What Love Is
by KBear143
Summary: How can something be so easy & so hard at the same time? Love will send you through the entire range of human emotions, none of them forgiving & each with its own color. Anger is blinding & white-hot. Jealousy is green because it makes you sick. Hurt & sadness are blue, like your lips when you can't breathe. And passion... Passion is red, as if you had been cut open and laid bare.
1. Chapter 1

**August 1942 – Camp Toccoa, Georgia**

"Staying!"

"Going!"

"Staying!"

"Going! You have no business being here!"

"Staying! And I had to jump through more hoops than you did to get here! Besides, my parents are gone. I've got nowhere else to go!"

"I know about your parents, Katie-Lynn, and I'm sorry. But take your ass back to Oregon and find a guy who'll marry you. Go have babies or something!"

I was incredulous. "Don, I'm staying and there is not a damned thing that you can do about it. I'll stay out of your way, and you stay the hell out of mine!"

Slowly, it occurred to both of us that the room was filled with other people. Guys were either sitting on their bunks or leaned against the wall, heads swiveling like they were watching a tennis match, as Don Malarkey and I screamed in the middle of the room.

We glared at each other, still breathing hard from the yelling, and after a moment of silence, George Luz spoke up with his soon-to-be-infamous comedic timing.

"You boys get the feeling we're missing something?

* * *

Perhaps I should offer some background. My name is Katie-Lynn James. I'm 18 years old, and I'm training with Easy Company at Camp Toccoa. Don't ask me how I wound up here. Just let me say that it involved the death of my parents in a car accident, and the fact that my godfather was a powerful man who had a soft spot for my pleading blue eyes.

Don Malarkey and I had grown up next door to each other. I was an only child, and a bit of a tomboy. He was three years older, but I followed him around incessantly. He never seemed to mind, even in high school, when he the star point guard on the basketball team and I was just a gawky, nervous freshman. He treated me like a kid sister.

I probably should admit that, by that time, I was crazy about him. I'm sure that he knew, although I did my best, I thought, to be discreet.

Don was my first kiss that freshman year. It was after a dance, and he had seen me safely to my door.

"I'm not used to seeing you in a dress, Katie-Lynn. You look really pretty."

I think I blushed from head to toe at the compliment. I looked up at him to say "thank you" at the same time he leaned to kiss my forehead, his customary good night gesture to me when he was in a good mood. Our lips met accidentally, but neither of us pulled back right away. When we did, he whispered a surprised "good night," and crossed the yard to his house.

We never spoke of it again, but I thought I finally understood what all of those love songs were about. Two years passed quickly, and before I knew it, Don had graduated and moved out of the house. We stayed close for a while, but by the time I graduated and my parents died, he had started college and met a girl who was none too fond of his childhood pal.

Her name was Anne, and she was the manipulative type, using his feelings to drive a wedge between us. She used my hurt and anger over the growing distance between us to convince him that I was jealous of her, and that I just didn't want him to be happy. He bought into it, and by the time that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, I hadn't seen or spoken to him since my parents' funeral, six months before.

I had no idea that Don had spoken with my godfather after having trouble enlisting, or that, with his help, he had volunteered as a paratrooper. As for myself, I'd been working on my godfather for months when he finally made the phone call that brought me to Toccoa. Later, I would ask him if he had a hand in the two of us being assigned to Easy together, but he never gave me a straight answer.

Sufficed to say that, standing in formation in the humid Georgia summer while our new CO yelled over something idiotic, the last person I expected to see was Don Malarkey. Clearly, the feeling was mutual. We barely made it back inside the barracks after being dismissed before the fight began.

* * *

Luz was still waiting for an answer when we were interrupted by mail call. Don was handed a letter and I smirked. It reeked of some overpriced perfume and had lipstick over the seal, and I knew exactly who it was from. His eyes snapped up at the sound and he resumed glaring at me.

"What? Are you jealous? Shouldn't you be home in a kitchen, writing love letters to your own fiancé instead of here, looking like a little boy, as per usual, and giving me shit about mine?"

A bayonet went through my heart.

"Your what?"

"You heard me."

"No, I'm not sure that I did."

"My fiancé," he sniped, drawing the word out slowly. "I proposed to Anne before I left."

I stared at him blankly, then walked over to my bunk in the farthest corner of the room and laid down, trying to shut myself off from the world.

Shocked that I had given up on the fight so quickly, he ventured, "What? No more wiseass comments?"

"Just leave me the fuck alone, Malarkey."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been weeks since I had spoken to Don. The few moments that we weren't training, sleeping, or eating, I usually spent with Luz, Guarnere, or Liebgott. I'd confessed everything about Don to them, so they always made sure that I was insulated from hearing him talk about Anne, and tried to keep our sniping at each other to a minimum.

Physically, I held my own. I could trudge up Currahee with the best of them. Of course, that drove Sobel crazy, and he delighted in picking on me. I could always count on my three musketeers though. When he really got going, one of them would start singing to drown him out. They'd just grin at me and we'd keep moving, but not without one of them giving me a cheeky pop on my butt as soon as Sobel wasn't looking.

Joe, who relished stirring up trouble, did his best to make his pops only within Malarkey's direct line of sight, although it took me a while to realize that. It hadn't even occurred to me that Don would care until we were walking into the mess hall one day for lunch. I felt the familiar sting of Joe's hand, his smiling face appearing beside me, and then I heard a voice from the table.

"Dammit, Joe, could you keep your hands off her ass for one day? Some of us are trying to eat!" came Don's angry demand as he slammed his tray down. Joe's grin grew wider, and I could see the mischievous glint in his eye. He was going to push this.

"What? You jealous, Malark?" he retorted, repeating Don's words to me from that first day at camp.

"No! I just don't wanna see that shit all the time."

"Then I suggest you don't look, 'cause Kaylee doesn't seem to mind." Oh, shit. Now Don was glaring. Kaylee had been a nickname that he had given me as kids, after deciding that my name was too long. No one else ever called me that. In my defense, I hadn't told Joe. He'd come up with it on his own. It didn't matter though, because Don didn't know that. He got up to leave without touching his food, pausing to look at me as he passed.

"This is what you've turned into? Letting guys feel you up whenever they want? Is it just those three, or were you planning to work your way through the whole company? Wonder what your godfather would think… or your parents," he spat nastily.

I heard several comments from the guys around us.

"Hey, Don, that was way too far," Luz protested.

"Malarkey! You know better," from Bill.

Talbert added, "Don't be an idiot."

Joe's fists were balled, his face tight, and he hissed, "I oughta fucking deck you for that."

Bull stood up behind me, placing his hands protectively on my shoulders and giving Don a hard look. When his words finally processed, clearing my brain and hitting my heart, the tears came before I had a chance to stop them. I moved to slap him, but Bull held my arm. Upon seeing my tears, Don's face changed from disgust to shock and shame. I very rarely cried, and he knew that. He looked like he was about to speak again, but I beat him to it.

I spoke through tears and gritted teeth, "You asshole! How dare you! I've never even kissed a guy except for you. How dare you insinuate that I'm some kind of whore just because nobody else in this company despises me like you do! And why do you care anyway? You told me to go find a husband and make babies. God, what happened to you? Did she cut out your heart, or is this special hatefulness that you have developed reserved especially for me? Because when I watch you with everyone else, you seem to be the Don that I used to know and lo… You know what? Forget it." I swiped angrily at my eyes and walked out of the mess hall toward the barracks.

I didn't hear Skip Muck walk up behind Don and say, "Well, Don, you sure fucked that one up." Nor did I see Don turn and put an angry fist into the wall before burying his face in his hands.

I managed to avoid speaking to Don as our training continued over the next few months, although seeing him was unavoidable. I learned to ignore the weekly announcement of his letters from Anne and their wedding plans. By December at Fort Benning, I could even keep a smile plastered on my face.

At Christmas, we had a small gathering of Easy Company folks, as well as some of the nurses and local girls that they guys had sweet-talked into joining us. Everyone was having a nice time and enjoying a drink or two, singing along to the Christmas music on the radio. I was walking back toward the table I shared with Joe and some of the guys, just as Don was walking toward the bar. I started past him, trying not to make eye contact, but I felt him catch my wrist.

"Katie-Lynn?"

"Yeah," I answered, clipping the word as I looked up at him, devoid of emotion.

"Look, I just wanted to say…"

"Aww!" slurred one of the girls, tipsily walking toward us. "Look who's under the mistletoe!"

We both looked up at the evil little plant and began to protest, but she pushed me with surprising force, so that I stumbled into his chest.

"Nope. Gotta kiss, kids! Them's the rules!"

We were both still arguing with her when she pushed me toward him again, so he caught me at my hips as our mouths met mid-sentence, and I felt his tongue brush against mine. It lasted only seconds, but in my head it felt like an eternity as I analyzed every movement… the way his grip tightened on my hips as he pulled me closer for a brief moment… the soft rumble in his chest as our tongues met… the slow burn that started in my stomach and spread all over my body… the dazed look in his eyes as he pulled away.

"Uh, yeah, so… Merry Christmas, Katie-Lynn."

"Merry Christmas, Don."

I walked back to Joe and Bill, who were staring at me with concern, and said, "I'm fine, guys. Really. Luz's drunk lady friend over there is stronger than she looks, but I'll be okay. At least he was trying to be nice. That's progress."

I had spoken too soon. A voice came from the doorway like nails on a chalkboard, "Donnie! Merry Christmas, baby!" My eyes went wide, and Joe gave me a look that told me not to look up.

"Anne? What the…?" Don snapped out of his daze.

"Daddy had business in Columbus! I came to see you. Aren't you happy to…?"

I could tell by the way she stopped, and the way that Joe bit his lip, that she had seen me.

"Donald, what is she doing here?"

"She's training. She knows we're engaged. We don't even talk, so don't worry about it. Come over here with me, baby. Let me introduce you to some of my buddies, and you can show your ring off to the ladies," he soothed, leading her to the other side of the room. I took a deep breath, and Bill muttered something that sounded like "whipped pup." I giggled a bit, but my Christmas spirit was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next week, she seemed to be around for every free second the company had. When she saw that I was able to brush off her hanging all over Don in front of me, she switched to the more direct tactic of personal attacks. She questioned my femininity, my prospects of dying as either a virgin in the war or an unmarried old maid, and my inability to find and keep a good man like "her Donnie."

By New Year's Eve, my brave face was cracking. We were supposed to have a party that night, and the last thing that I wanted to do was to go and see Anne, all dolled up and making fun of me for not having anyone to kiss at midnight. I'd rather die than give her the satisfaction of losing it in front of her.

I had told George that morning that I'd be spending the evening in the barracks. As everyone else left for the party, I looked up from my book to see George, Bill, and Joe standing at the foot of my bed, staring at me.

"Put this on," ordered Bill, dropping a bag on my bed.

"April here," George picked up, motioning to his mistletoe-loving lady friend, who had just entered the room, "she's gonna do your hair and makeup."

I started to argue, but Joe cut me off by saying, "You have thirty minutes." The look on his face told me that they weren't letting this go, so I followed April into the small room I usually dressed in, and opened the bag.

The dress was my favorite shade of blue, and hugged the curves that I'd developed over the summer, but that had been hidden under my uniform since I got to Toccoa. There were stockings, heels, even jewelry. I shook my head in amazement. April answered my unspoken question.

"After that disaster at Christmas… I'm really sorry, by the way… I didn't know. But, after that disaster, and all the hell she's been putting you through this week, a bunch of the boys put their money together and George sent me shopping this morning." She smiled, adding, "They love you. They weren't about to let her upstage you. Oh, and I know what you're thinking. There's no way that you won't have at least one guy to kiss at midnight. There. All done. Let's go!"

God, it felt great to have a female friend again. She didn't even hate me for being friends with her man. She pulled me into the room where the guys were waiting, and walked over to wrap her arm around George's waist. They looked like proud parents, watching their daughter after she got dressed up for her first dance.

Bill laughed, "Well, well, well! Now who's not feminine enough! With a body like that? That's a full-blown woman right there! Hey Joe! Put out your damn cigarette and come look!"

Stubbing out his cigarette and walking back in the door, Joe snapped, "Bill, what the hell are you… holy shit. Katie-Lynn?"

"Hi Joe. This what you had in mind?"

"No, sweetheart. It's better. You're an absolute knockout."

I blushed as he took my hand, and we walked out the door toward the party. When we arrived, Bill, George and April walked in first. Joe winked at me and reminded me to breathe, and I heard George talking as we stepped into the bar.

"Boys, I just wanted to take a minute to introduce you all to someone you may not recognize out of uniform. Easy's own Warrior Princess, Katie-Lynn." I saw a few shocked faces, followed by some whistles and catcalls, blushing as Joe pulled out my chair for me. The guys headed to the bar for drinks, and Don took that moment to walk up beside me. I didn't see Anne scowling at me, so she must have gone to the ladies' room or something.

"Hey, Katie-Lynn."

"Don," I answered, keeping my eyes on the bar. He put his hand over mine so that I'd look up at him. "Kaylee, you look…"

"Donnie! Where'd you go? I want to dance!" He looked at me apologetically, but I waved him off and he headed back to dance with his tipsy fiancé. Oh, there was the scowl I'd been missing. April just shook her head, muttering something about men being stupid.

I couldn't stay upset for long, though, because the boys all made it a point to keep me dancing and laughing. I tried to prod Joe onto the dance floor, but he wasn't having it. He kept making me laugh though, so I couldn't be too upset with him.

As I finished a dance with Bull, I realized that midnight was approaching. The song finished, and someone announced that everyone needed to grab their guy or gal because this next dance would end with the New Year. I knew what that meant, and I saw Anne, spiteful bitch that she was, dragging Don over to dance right beside me. I started to go hide, but Bull spun me around one last time, directly into someone. He laughed as he walked by, patting me on the back and thanking me for the dance. I rolled my eyes at him and looked up to apologize to whoever had caught me. Instead of a surprised paratrooper, I found Joe smirking down at me.

"Thanks, Bull. Hope you don't mind if I take this dance, sweetheart," he teased, expertly dipping me back.

"But I thought you didn't dance."

"Just saving the best for last." He winked at me, pulling me near, and I laid my head against his shoulder. He smelled good, and it felt good to be held close as the room counted down to midnight and erupted.

In the middle of the celebration, I looked up and said, "Happy New Year, Joe."

He was biting his bottom lip as his gaze flicked between my eyes and my mouth. He ran his hand along my cheek and down my jaw, resting his thumb on my chin. Then he wet his lips with his tongue and leaned down to press them to mine. When we pulled away, my eyes fluttered open and he was smiling at me.

"Happy New Year, Katie Baby."


	4. Chapter 4

I was on Cloud 9 as Joe and I walked back to the barracks. My Easy boys were amazing. I suddenly had a realization and stopped short in the middle of the street. Joe looked at me curiously.

"You only drank two beers all night," I said, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, so?"

"Why? Are you feeling okay?"

He smiled. Not his signature smirk, but a genuine smile like the one he'd given me after he kissed me. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just knew that, with everything that's been going on, this New Year's thing was kinda a big deal for you. I wanted to make sure Malarkey's little lap dog in there couldn't claim I did it because I was drunk or something. And I wanted to make sure that you knew that too."

The guy was amazing. He tried to come off as a wiseass tough guy, but he had a heart of gold. Without thinking, I squealed and threw my arms around his neck, planting another kiss on him. I surprised him, and I pulled back quickly, panicking.

"Joe, I'm so sorry! I don't know what…"

He pulled me quickly into the darkness between the two buildings, pressing me to a wall. Taking my chin between his thumb and index finger, he tilted my face up and brushed his lips against mine again. Once. Twice. The third time, I could feel him willing me to open my mouth. When I relented, his tongue brushed mine and I ran my fingers along the back of his neck, moaning lightly into his mouth. Clearly affected, he ran his hands down my sides to rest on my butt, and he lifted me so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. I felt a hand slide up my thigh and gasped, leaning my head back as he kissed, sucked, and bit down my neck.

"God, Katie, you're so fucking beautiful," he spoke against my skin, grinding his hips into mine.

"Don't stop. That feels so good."

"Say it again," he ordered, his hips still moving against mine.

"Don't stop, Joe. Please."

"Whatever you want, baby," he answered, sliding a hand in between us so that I could feel his fingers at the center of my rapidly soaking panties. "Fuck," he groaned at the wetness, kissing me deeply as he pushed the thin cotton aside and slid a finger into me.

I was whimpering against his lips as his thumb brushed against the sensitive bundle of nerves at my center.

"Joe… please…"

"Please what, baby?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. Say it, Katie-Lynn."

"Say what?"

"Say you want me. You won't regret it. I promise."

"Joe… I want you," I whispered, and he thrust his hips against mine. I cried out in pleasure and surprise, but then caught movement over his shoulder as a shocked face stared at our compromising position.

Don.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up suddenly, flushed and sweaty from the dream. After the party, Joe had walked me back to the barracks and fired up a card game with a few of the boys in the next room. He had come back in to grab something from his bunk, which was beside mine, when I sat up. He looked over at me, concerned.

"You okay?" I couldn't meet his eyes, and when I didn't answer, he sat down on my bunk and put a finger under my chin. "What's wrong? You have a nightmare or something?"

"No. Not exactly."

Ever the blunt one, he stated, "Well, from the way you're breathing, it was a nightmare or a sex dream," and my blush was back. He shook his head and stroked my hand. "Now, Katie, don't be putting yourself through that. He's engaged, and you're too good of a woman to be pining away for him."

"It wasn't him. I mean, he saw… but it wasn't him."

"Well then, who…?" He trailed off and I pulled my hand away from his. The silence was thick for a minute, and then he spoke again. "How was I?" I could hear the smile in his voice, and I returned it, despite my heated cheeks.

"Can't you tell?"

We laughed, and I relaxed for a minute. Joe was my best friend, and I loved him. It wasn't that I wasn't attracted to him. I was. Extremely. But I knew that he had an on-again-off-again thing back home, and he knew that I still had feelings for Don. We sometimes talked, only half-joking, about something strictly physical, but we never acted on it. The sexual tension just kind of hung there between us, but that was Joe. I think he could've created sexual tension with any woman. It was something about his wildness.

I felt him watching me as my mind drifted back to Don shocked face from my dream. I wondered if he'd looked like that when Joe kissed me at midnight. Then I wondered why I cared. Then I started to cry.

"Aww, baby, what is it?" Joe asked, wrapping me in a hug.

"Dammit, Joe. I was doing so well. Until that kiss last week, I really thought I was getting past it."

"You're gonna be okay. I promise. Just keep working on it. You're gonna find someone as amazing as you deserve. You'll see."

"I did," I said, half-laughing and half-sobbing. "But he's got some girl back home, and he says that he'd destroy an innocent thing like me."

"Well, it's true! I would!"

"Great. So I'm going to go off to war and die, and the only thing close to a lover I'll ever have will have been an engaged Don Malarkey and a forced kiss under the mistletoe."

"You're kidding, right? Because if you're not, I can come up with ten guys right now who would take care of that for you. Who do you want?"

I glared at him, and then laughed again and hugged him tightly, whispering next to his ear, "Now Joseph, you know if I were gonna let someone here corrupt me with a strictly physical arrangement, it would only be you. Especially after that dream."

His hand snaked up my thigh. "One of these days, Kaylee, I'm gonna lose the handle on this iron willpower of mine. And when I do, I'm gonna have you calling out my name, just like you were when I walked in here."

Shit.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, Joe?" teased Bill, as Joe looked grumpy and exhausted from playing cards all night. "You won last night. Why the long face?"

"Nah, Bill," came Luz's reply. "He's just frustrated. Seems our Katie Baby was dreaming about him when he stopped into the barracks last night. Left him all hot and bothered."

I looked up at Joe, who quickly looked away and blushed. Joe Liebgott actually blushed. Before I could say anything, a snarky female voice came from behind me.

"Oh, very classy. Can't get a real man, so you've settled for having lewd dreams about them instead?"

I stood up and looked at her, my jaw set, but I didn't get the chance to respond.

"Shut up, Anne." She and I both stared at Don with the same confused look.

"What did you say, Donald?"

"Leave her alone. She hasn't done anything to you."

"She's here, isn't she? Of all places in the world, she's here with you. Because she has to follow you everywhere, thinking that if she stays close, she can stop our wedding and win you over."

"What are you talking about? Do you really think she'd have control over where I was assigned? And why would she want to win me over and stop our wedding?"

"She's in love with you, Donald! Everyone here knows it but you!" His eyes snapped to mine for a second, as if waiting for me to protest. I stood still, so she continued her rant, "Well too bad for you that we're getting married this weekend. Donnie just got his pass, and we are eloping to Atlanta before he goes to Fort Bragg, leaving now."

"Congratulations, Anne," I replied blandly, forcing a smile. "You too, Don. Have a safe trip." She looked confused at my anti-climactic reaction, but with nothing left to say, she stormed out to the car and left Don standing there.

"Katie-Lynn, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure. Go ahead." He glanced behind me at the prying looks and rolled his eyes. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen pantry, shutting the door. I looked up at him, arms across my chest, and waited.

"Kaylee, I need to apologize. For how she's been and how I've been and everything. There is no excuse, and I'm sorry about her little rant a minute ago. I don't know why she's so paranoid about you."

"She told you why."

"Because she thinks you love me."

"No. Because she knows I love you." I paused for a response, but seeing as his mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, I carried on, "Which means that I want you to be happy. Go to Atlanta and get married. Have a safe trip. You deserve that. We grew up. It happens."

Finding his voice, he said, "Kaylee, I'll be here for you during this war. I never meant to hurt you. If you ever need anything… I just want you to be alright."

"I'll be fine, Don. I'm surrounded by men that love me. I'll get over you."

I didn't miss the sad look in his eyes as he nodded and moved toward the door. I leaned against it as he reached around me for the handle.

"I do need one thing before you run off and get married though. Call it closure, if you will."

He looked down at me, and I put my hands on his chest, nervously gripping the fabric of his uniform. I looked up into his eyes, leaving my request unspoken. He already knew what I was asking for, and he leaned down to skim his lips across mine. His fingers touched my jaw and tilted my face up further, kissing me again softly.

"Is this what you wanted?" I sighed and nodded, starting to lower my face and move out of his way, but he held me firmly and ordered, "Then kiss me back, Katie-Lynn. Right now."

His mouth was back on mine, a low rumble in his chest as our tongues brushed. I moaned into the kiss and he tangled one hand in my hair, tugging my head back so that he could kiss me more deeply. His free hand grabbed mine, intertwining our fingers and pressing it to the door above my head, nipping at my bottom lip and then running his tongue along the mark. I was nearly panting as his trailed kisses down my neck. His body was flush against mine, but it felt like we couldn't get close enough.

Then a car horn honked impatiently outside and the spell was broken. He jerked away from me, both of us breathless, and gave me a pained look before rushing out the door to his waiting fiancé. I straightened myself up and wiped my eyes as I walked back out, taking my seat beside Joe and resuming my breakfast. They were all staring at me, clearly waiting for some juicy piece of gossip, but I remained silent.

Only Joe could read my face, and it took just seconds for it to click and him to sputter, "You didn't!" I nodded and met his impressed smile with a small, shy grin of my own. "Damn, baby! I am rubbing off on you!"

A chorus of confusion from around the table- what had I done, and how did Joe read me so well?

"She fucking kissed him! That's why he ran out of here all flustered!"

The looks were a mixture of shock and admiration, and I shrugged, "Something for him to consider on his wedding night. Let him know what he's missing out on. Besides, I needed closure."

"If I propose to someone, will you let me know what I'm missing out on?" joked Tab, always up for making out with a woman.

"You walked in on me in the shower last week. You know exactly what you're missing out on, Kokomo."

"You lucky bastard!" Luz elbowed him.

"What the hell were you doing walking in on her, Tab?" Joe demanded, not quite hiding the jealousy in his voice. "Guess I'll have to stand guard from now on."

I ran my hand discreetly up his thigh and leaned into him, letting my lips brush his earlobe as I whispered, "We've talked about this, Joey. If you want to see me naked, all you've got to do is ask."

"Tease," he hissed, shifting uncomfortably. I smiled at him and we finished out breakfast.


	7. Chapter 7

Spring came, and then summer. We moved from North Carolina to Kentucky to Tennessee, and then back to North Carolina again. Outside of training, Don and I hadn't spoken at all since he'd come back. He never mentioned the wedding, and I never asked. We had settled into a silent routine. At the very least, we respected each other. If he got a letter from Anne, he'd hide it away, always waiting to read it when I wasn't around. I actually appreciated his thoughtfulness, and I tried to make sure that the guys didn't give him a hard time about things between us.

I stayed close to my musketeers, especially Joe. They watched me closely for the first few weeks, but that began to fade as they realized that I was going to be okay. In September, the Army loaded us on a train without telling us where we were going. It turns out that there was a troop ship waiting for us in New York, and the reality that all of this training was going to culminate in us going to war was looming larger than ever. We were silent as we left the safety of the harbor with the Statue of Liberty watching over us.

"Twelve days, baby girl," Joe said, standing behind me and trapping me between his arms as he gripped the rail on either side of me. "Twelve days in this tin can. Then you and I can jump into Berlin, kill that Nazi bastard, and we can go the hell home to Frisco."

I smiled and leaned into him. "We?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I figure I'll get all of my fraternizing done over in Europe. Then, I'll be ready to come home and settle down with a great woman like you," he joked, giving me a squeeze, and walking with me back below decks to our bunks. "But seriously, I know you don't exactly have a lot waiting for you back home. If you came to San Francisco with me, you could start a whole new life. You'd love it there. Just think about it."

George, nosy as always, chimed in, "What is Kaylee thinking about, Joe? Did you propose?"

"Something like that, George. I asked her to come back to Frisco with me after the war was over."

"Well, Doll, I'm sure you'd look better in a bathing suit on the beaches of California. But if you happen to decide against it, you can always come to Philly. I know a guy who'd be happy to have you there," Bill added, elbowing Joe. "Although, as much as I hate to admit it, the idea of you being Mrs. Katie-Lynn Liebgott is kind of interesting."

Joe chuckled, "Yeah, Bill. If ever there was a woman who could get a proposal out of me, it'd be my Katie Baby."

I heard someone curse and crumple the pages of a magazine, and Don appeared from behind Bill, pushing through bodies to get out. I realized he'd heard everything, and I felt bad because I hadn't known he was there. He pushed past me, muttering something about needing "to get some damned air." Joe, knowing that Don and I had been trying to be more careful about things in front of each other, nodded for me to follow him. I kissed him on the cheek and turned, weaving my own way through the crowded space as I followed the red hair.

He was still a ways ahead of me, and I saw him glance out at the crowded deck, deciding instead to turn down another hallway. When I reached it, I saw that it was mostly empty and spotted him turning another corner. A moment later I turned into the deserted hallway. I didn't see him anymore, but I continued forward, sure that I had seen him come this way. He startled me when he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into a recessed doorway.

"Oh my God, Don! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Why are you following me?"

"Because."

"Good reason."

"Don, I'm sorry. Joe just brought up the San Francisco thing on deck earlier, saying that he knew I didn't really have anything to go home to in Oregon. You know how Luz and Bill are. I didn't even realize you were laying there."

"What difference does that make?"

"Because we've been trying to treat each other better… not flaunt things in each other's faces or try to get to each other. I just didn't want you to think that's what I was trying to do in there. I don't think Joe was either. I mean, I know you might not care, now that you're married, but…"

"I'm not married," he snapped, cutting me off.

I looked at him, dumbfounded. "I'm sorry. What did you just say?"

"I didn't get married. We went to Atlanta. We were all set to go before the judge, and I panicked. I told her that I didn't want the worry of supporting, and possibly widowing, her while I tried to concentrate on fighting a war halfway around the world. That I thought we should wait until I got home, when we could have a real wedding, with a church and a priest, and our families. She went along with it, but she's pretty angry with me."

"You knew all of that before you even proposed, Don, and you've never seemed like the cold-feet type."

"I know," he shrugged, looking at the floor.

"So what gives? What made you panic?"

His eyes snapped up, and they held a fire in them that I'd never seen before. He stepped forward, backing me up against the cold metal of the door frame.

"This," he answered, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper. "Whatever this is between us. I couldn't marry her until I knew what the hell happened that day. What it meant."

My mind flashed back to that heated moment in the pantry at Toccoa. It seemed like years ago now.

"Don, I didn't want to screw up your life or your relationship. I just…"

"Do you want to kiss me?" he interrupted, suddenly moving so close to me that I almost couldn't think. I felt his hands on my waist, pulling me into him. I put my hands against his chest to steady myself, and I could feel his heart pounding.

"I… wait, what?"

"Do you want to kiss me right now?" he repeated, his voice still hoarse. "Because it's all I can think about."

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think clearly. His lips were dangerously close to mine, waiting for an answer. I slid my hand up his chest and behind his neck, closing the distance and pressing my lips tentatively against his. I felt the tension leave his body, and he picked me up, hitching my legs around his waist. I nipped his lower lip, soothing it with my tongue as he had done to me all those months ago.

I felt him try the door we were standing in front of. It opened into a deserted room, and I found myself sitting on the edge of a table as he shut and locked the door behind him. This time, there was no rush. No honking horn and no one waiting outside. The kiss was deep and slow, as if he were exploring me, and so tender that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

I unbuttoned his jacket, sliding it off his shoulders. He tossed it aside, cursing under his breath as I ran my hands under his tank top, allowing my fingernails to graze the well-defined muscles of his abdomen. After a moment, he just ripped it over his head, crashing his lips to mine again. I gasped his name as he bit my neck, and his arousal was evident as he pressed his hips into the apex of my thighs. The tenderness that had been before was now replaced by a passionate desire.


	8. Chapter 8

He was ghosting kisses down my neck and chest, his lips touching the skin underneath the blouse I hadn't realized he had unbuttoned. His hands found my rear and pulled me forward, the grinding of his hips against mine causing me to moan into his mouth as we kissed.

"God, Kaylee, can you feel what you do to me?" he asked, the friction of his arousal against my center driving me to distraction. It was as if I'd lost control of my body. Before I knew what I'd done, I unbuttoned his trousers and slid my hand down to stroke him, causing him to thrust forward. "Fuck, baby, what are you doing to me?"

"I want you, Don." His eyes snapped up to mine for a second, and he kissed me hungrily, wrestling my trousers over my hips.

"Say that again."

"I want you," I whispered against his ear, and he was inside me almost before I finished. He stilled for a moment when I dug my fingernails into his shoulder blades, looking into my eyes and running his thumb across my swollen lips.

** DON'S POV **

"You are so beautiful," I told her, and it was true. She sat bare and unashamed before me, with hazy eyes, flushed cheeks and lips swollen from my kiss. If I didn't already know that she'd never done this before, I'd have instantly figured it out by the way her body was now gripping mine. I stilled long enough for her to adjust, then drew her into another slow kiss as I began to move my body against hers.

I had to keep reminding myself to be gentle, as the sounds emitting from her were driving me to abandon all reason. God, she felt so good. Like home. Like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Like I could make love to her every single day for the rest of my life. She was mine. Not Bill's. Not Joe's. Mine. My subconscious claiming of her shredded what remained of my restraint, and I growled against her ear as I drove my body into hers.

"You're MY girl, you hear me?" My hands caressed her breasts as I left love-bites along her neck. "Nobody gets to touch you like this but me."

She answered me in a half-whimper, half-gasp, "All yours, Don. All yours. Just don't stop."

That was all I needed to hear. There were no intelligible words for a while; just a blur of caresses and kisses where we couldn't tell where I stopped and she began. When I pulled all the way out and thrust back in, she let out a guttural moan that shot heat straight to my core. I could feel that we were both getting close, and I slowed my movements again to try and draw this feeling out as long as possible.

"Kaylee… you feel so good… God, I'm so close, baby," I heard myself say in a voice I didn't recognize. She didn't answer. Instead, she rotated her hips against mine, and the sensation sent us both spiraling off the edge.

When I could breathe again, I noticed that she was sniffling and pulled her into a tight hug. I kissed her and whispered against her hair, "I love you, Katie-Lynn."

"I love you. But what about…?" I knew where she was headed, and I stopped her. I didn't want anything to diminish the bliss of what had just happened. I was finally content for the first time since I'd arrived at Toccoa.

"No. Not right now. Don't ruin this. I'm going to take care of everything. You're the only one I want."


	9. Chapter 9

It's funny how life can turn on a dime sometimes.

I don't mean Don and me finally admitting that we loved each other. That had always been there, and the last year of tension between us meant that it would explode at some point. It could really only end with us making love or killing each other.

No, I mean what happened next.

We dressed quickly, laughing and joking as we had done when we were kids. It finally felt right again, and the happiness was apparent on both of our faces. We talked about the understanding that we would have to keep this low profile until the war was over. We both knew that fraternization could result in court-martial, and would certainly probably lead at least to my dismissal. That was fine. We could wait. It wasn't like we would be eloping to Paris in the middle of a war anyway.

The hall was still deserted when we stepped back into it, and we held hands until we could hear other people. Even then, we both had to shove our hands deeply into our pockets to resist the urge. When we reached the bunks, it was obvious to everyone that something had changed between us. The content smiles. His hand on the small of my back as we waded through the crowd. The way we looked at each other. Bill and Joe exchanged knowing glances, smiling and shaking their heads. They didn't ask, but they certainly knew.

"It's about damn time," I heard one of them mutter. Then I saw Vest coming through the corridor with a bag.

"Hey! We got a delivery right before we left, and I didn't have time to hand all this out before we boarded. I've got one for you, Don. Oh, and Katie-Lynn, this one is yours." I thanked him, and he moved through the crowd to finish his delivery.

Don noticed me staring at the letter in his hand, from Anne of course, and tucked it into his pocket.

"I told you not to worry about this. C'mon. What did you get?"

"No idea. There's not a return address," I answered, confused as I ripped the envelope. I pulled out the contents- a single piece of folded paper, and a short note in what appeared to be very large print. I unfolded the letter and quickly scanned it. There were only four words. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. My blood was rushing through my ears and I sat down hard on Bill's bunk, letting the letter slide out of my hands and to the floor.

Bill sat up quickly, grabbing my shoulder and demanding, "Kaylee, what the hell? What happened?"

Don was beside him, clutching my hand. "Sweetheart, talk to me, please. What is it? Bad news? Tell me." I met his concerned eyes and began to sob, burying my face in my hands. He was begging me for an answer now, but I couldn't bring myself to speak.

Joe jumped down from his spot, kneeling in front of me and picking up the dropped page. Reading the same four words that I read moments before, he cursed and nudged Bill, looking down at me sadly. Bill stood and took the letter from his outstretched hand.

After a moment he quietly said, "Malark. Hey. You need to see this."

Don was reluctant to move, but the looks on Bill and Joe's faces told him he needed to pay attention. He stood and took the note. Four words. Four words can change everything.

_I'm pregnant!_

_Love, Anne_


	10. Chapter 10

Joe kissed and stroked my hair as I finally exhausted all my sobs, releasing a shuddering breath into his chest. Bill had taken Don out on deck, in part to see what his letter from Anne said, and in part to get him away from me for a while. He kept trying to apologize, but it was the last thing that I wanted to hear right now. I knew the kind of man that Don was, and I knew what it meant if she was pregnant. So did she which is why she took the time to send me the note.

"Kaylee, it's going to be okay. I promise," Joe tried to reassure me.

"It's not, Joe. He's gonna marry her. Whether he really wants to or not, he's gonna marry her. No matter what happened between us… no matter what I gave up… it's over. Over before it even started. I'm such an idiot."

"What? You are not an idiot! Why would you say that?"

"I knew she'd find a way to win. I knew it, and I let that happen anyway. I gave him all that I had, and I should have known that he couldn't do the same because she already had it all."

"He loves you, Katie-Lynn. No matter what happens, you can't forget that," he said quietly, pulling me closer.

"But I want to, Joe. I want to forget it ever happened. I don't want to remember what it felt like when he said he loved me. I don't want to remember his kiss or his touch. I don't want to remember how much I love a man that I will never have."

Joe didn't say anything else. He knew me well enough to know that all I needed right now was to be held, and that's exactly what he did. He held me against him so that I could hear the steady beat of his heart, and he ran his fingers through my hair until I finally fell asleep in his arms.

** JOE'S POV **

I saw Bill and Don coming back, still loudly carrying on whatever intense discussion they'd been having on deck, and I motioned to Bill to lower his voice.

"She's finally cried herself to sleep," I told him. He nodded, elbowing Don, who was still at top volume.

"Shhh, she's asleep!"

Don looked up at my bunk and saw her curled snugly against my chest. You couldn't miss the red puffiness around her eyes, or her tear-stained cheeks. It was obvious to anyone that she'd been crying. He saw it, and I could tell that it hurt him.

"Bet you're pretty happy right now, aren't you?" he snarked at me.

"Excuse me? No, as a matter of fact, I'm not. I want her to be happy, and I've spent the last two hours with her bawling her eyes out in my arms because you're an idiot! So, if you must know, no. I'm not happy at all."

"Yeah, well…" seemed to be the best he could come up with in response, but my anger had already kicked in.

"Well nothing! You should've handled that little lap dog of yours BEFORE you went off and drug her into this. She might've already been hurting thinking that you were married to that spiteful bitch, but at least she hadn't gotten in completely over her head! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know, Joe. I love her. I do. But…"

"But nothing! I don't want to hear your damned excuses, Malarkey. She was doing fine without you. She was trying to move forward, and to let you do the same. But no! You're so selfish. You got scared that she was getting over you, didn't you? You saw her getting closer to other guys. You heard us talking about San Francisco or Philadelphia after the war. You heard what George said about me proposing, and you finally realized that she might actually be gone by the time you finally pulled your head out of your ass. So, instead of doing the right thing and making sure things were good and done with Anne, you just went right ahead and ripped this poor woman's heart out. Now she feels like she's an idiot, because she says she should have known that Anne would have the last word. She's blaming herself for every last bit of what happened, because she thinks she should have known better. And you know what, maybe she should have. I admire her taking responsibility. But you better believe that I'm not going to forget the huge part of the blame that falls squarely on you."

Bill was trying to talk me down now, and Don was just staring at me, wide-eyed at the brutal force of my words. When they sunk in, he looked almost ready to fight.

"You son of a bitch! You know I wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt her. I had no idea that Anne was pregnant, and I certainly didn't know she'd send that note. I know I handled things badly, and I should have ended things with her first. But I didn't. I screwed up. I admit that. You're right. The idea of her going home with you or Bill… the idea of you touching her or kissing her… or marrying her… it was more than I could handle. She was mine. Still is mine. I'll be damned if I let her go without a fight."

At this, Bill interrupted, "What the hell are you gonna do, Malarkey? You can't marry them both!"

"Maybe not, but I'm not gonna stand by while she marries Joe, or anybody else. Maybe once the kid is grown…" he trailed off.

"Would you listen to yourself? You want her to wait around for 18 years because you got another woman pregnant? That's bullshit. Have you even thought about what you'd do if Kaylee wound up pregnant too? You know as well as I do what would happen."

"Yeah, Bill. I know. There's no way Anne would let me raise a child with her. Maybe we could keep it a secret. Or say it was someone else's, and he died… or left her…"

He was talking out of his mind now, and I knew that. Desperate words from a desperate man. But his cavalier comments about whom she belonged to, who she could marry, and all of that nonsense had my blood boiling. I couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Don't worry, Don. You go marry that little broad you knocked up. When we get home, you go have a million more at whatever house her daddy picks out for you to live in up there in Astoria. Meanwhile, down in San Francisco, Katie-Lynn, and the baby you may or may not have created today, will be just fine. It may take a while, but I'm gonna make sure of it if it takes the rest of my life."


	11. Chapter 11

"Katie, you need to calm down. Stop checking the calendar every single day. You aren't even due to start for another couple of weeks."

"Seriously, Joe? How the hell do you even know that?"

"I pay attention. It's not hard to figure from your cramps and mood swings. Did you think that extra Hershey bar that appears under your pillow once a month was put there by fairies?" Leave it to Liebgott to secretly satisfy a woman's chocolate cravings for two years without taking credit. He was a hard man to figure sometimes.

"I knew there was a reason why I loved you," I mumbled into his neck, hugging him tightly. "I've never wanted that evil little monthly visitor so badly in my life. Two weeks? Oh my God. I can't deal with this. I thought war was scary. Joe, I have no idea what I'm going to do if…"

"Shh," he soothed. "You're probably not."

"But what if…"

"But if," he interrupted, "If you are, they will send you home. You'll pack your stuff. You'll drive down to San Francisco, where I will have already told my sister that you are coming. You two will get along great. You'll stay with her until I get home."

"Then what?"

"What do you mean, then what? We'll buy a house, silly girl. I don't wanna live with my sister forever. Besides, she doesn't really have room for a real nursery."

I looked at him with a mixture of awe and admiration. He just rattled everything off so matter-of-factly, like it was all lined out already in his head.

"Why do you sound like you've thought about this?"

"Because I have. Wasn't much else to do on the ship, and I wanted to make sure we had a plan in place. Besides, there wasn't much to think about. I'm here for you. No matter what."

"But what about your own life? A wife and kids?"

"I'll have one," he answered, grinning at me. I blushed, but finally relaxed into his arms. "Look, we will just worry about it when it happens, okay? Right now, we have a training maneuver with Captain Clueless."

* * *

**One month later**

"Katie-Lynn, you need to go talk to Doc. You gotta find out for sure." Bill was trying to talk some sense into me but, as scared as I was not to know, I was even more scared to find out for sure.

"What am I gonna do if I am, Bill? I mean, I know I'll go home, but I really don't want to have to go through all of this alone."

"You won't be alone. You'll be with Joe's family, and we will be home soon, so he will be there."

"Come on, Bill. Do you really think he meant all that? Besides, even if he did, I'm not going to screw up his whole life just because I did something stupid. He deserves to marry a woman he loves, and have all the little Liebgotts that he wants. Who's gonna give him a chance if he's got some woman living with him, and he's raising her kid?"

"Doll, I think that the plan was to marry you. At least that's what he's been telling us. And I definitely don't think you'd be screwing up his life. But you have to go talk to Doc. Joe said you were a nervous wreck, but I promise that we will be right there with you."

I sighed, following Bill outside to where a group of the guys were standing. I tugged on Joe's sleeve and motioned him toward the medic tent.

"Come with me &amp; Bill to talk to Roe? He's gonna make me go to the hospital to take a pregnancy test, and I need you holding my hand." Don's eyes snapped up to mine.

"Katie, I'll come with you."

"No, thank you. I'd rather not pretend like this is all normal. If you're not going to be there, I'd rather it start from the beginning." He swallowed hard and nodded, and my heart crushed a little more. I was dying for him to argue with me. To tell me that he would be there every step of the way. Instead, it was Joe that took my hand.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go find out if we're having a baby."

* * *

Four sets of eyes stared expectantly at the nurse who had just walked into the room. It felt like my heart and my stomach had traded places as we all waited for the news that could change two of our lives forever. Joe slid his fingers down to intertwine with mine.

"Miss James? Everything you're experiencing is perfectly normal for a woman in your circumstances." She saw my eyes go wide, and realized the ambiguity of her answer. "No, no. I mean your circumstances as a paratrooper. All of the physical training and stress can explain your symptoms. You are not pregnant."

I all but collapsed into Joe's chest as my relief poured out of my eyes. He just stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head as Doc and Bill patted me on the back.

"Well, damn," Joe muttered. "I was already thinking of names." We all laughed, even the nurse.


	12. Chapter 12

**** DON'S POV ****

I know what you are thinking, and you're right. I was a jerk, and I should've known better.

Bill and Joe have told me often, in the years since we were on that troop ship, that they truly wanted to knock some sense into me. I think that the fear of having Katie-Lynn mad at them for it was probably the only thing that kept them from doing it.

Anne's behavior toward Katie since she'd discovered her at Toccoa had revealed a lot to me. I began to realize that she'd done everything in her power to drive my best friend out of my life. Katie-Lynn hadn't changed. I had. She had always wanted me to be happy, and she had tried to warn me that I was headed down the wrong path.

If I had any guts at all about the whole thing, I would have ended things with Anne after I'd kissed her in the pantry. I knew then. But I didn't end things, and now my punishment would be to watch my Kaylee with someone else while I waited to go home any marry the woman I'd "knocked up," as Joe so eloquently put it.

They'd returned from the hospital and Bill had caught my eye, a quick shake of his head indicating that the test had been negative. She wasn't pregnant. I was almost disappointed. Maybe if there had been a baby, I'd have had a way to stay connected to her. Now…

* * *

What a surprise. Captain Sobel had screwed up another maneuver, getting us lost in the English countryside. How could we possibly go into battle with a man who couldn't even read a map? Luz was able to do his impersonation of Major Horton and, with a little prodding from Tipper, got us moving again. Of course, by the time we got to the objective, Winters had already taken it. Sobel would have walked us right into another ambush. Something had to be done, especially after he had Winters court-martialed over a latrine inspection.

Our NCO's stepped up and took a drastic measure that could have cost them their lives. Signing those resignations was tantamount to loading the guns for the firing squad they could be facing. None of them hesitated. It was the bravest act I'd ever seen, and we weren't even in battle yet.

When I saw them coming out of Colonel Sink's office, still alive and not being lined up against a wall to be shot, I ran to Bill and threw my arms around his neck. I could tell that they'd been given the ass-chewing of a lifetime, but I was just so happy that they were all okay.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again! I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

"We're okay, Doll. I told you that we would be." He hugged me tightly, kissing my hair. "Everything is going to be okay now."

I waited until they were out of sight before walking into the building, entering the office without knocking. My godfather stood up to greet me, a serious look on his stern face.

"I know why you're here. And I don't want to hear it, Kaylee."

"You have to. I know you're angry, but shouldn't it tell you something if they were all willing to get shot? That man is going to get people killed unnecessarily! You know me. Would I ever come to you unless there was a serious problem?"

He sat on the front of his desk and looked at me for a moment. Finally, his stern gaze cracked into a smirk.

"No. No, my dear, you wouldn't. I'm still not happy about the way they handled it, but I suppose that desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll handle it this." I smiled and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. He laughed in spite of himself and hugged me back. I started out of the room, but not before he said, "Oh, and Katie-Lynn? I'm so very proud of you."

I snapped a sharp salute, which he quickly returned. "Thank you, Colonel."

That night, we celebrated. Sobel was being reassigned to a training school at Chilton Foliat, Winters was back with Easy Company, and no one had to face the firing squad. For a few hours, the immense feeling of dread that had been following us for months released its icy grip.


	13. Chapter 13

**THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE FOLLOWED, FAVORITED &amp; REVIEWED! I can't believe the positive feedback my stories have been getting! You are all so amazing. The countdown is on (!) until I'm headed to France to meet some of the BoB guys we all love, so who knows what inspiration I may be getting in the near future. In the mean time, I am going to continue trying to earn all of these positive comments you have been sending!**

* * *

They placed us in a makeshift camp on the edge of the Upottery airfield. We knew that the jump must be getting close, because there were guards posted everywhere. No one was allowed out. We were briefed and re-briefed, studying sand tables and maps until we could no longer hold our eyes open.

We'd gained a new CO from Baker Company, Lt. Thomas Meehan. He was intelligent and likeable and, more importantly, we all respected him as a leader. Also new to our little family was Lt. Buck Compton. He fit right in, diving into the gambling and horse-play as though he were one of the enlisted men, although his quick wit and natural leadership ability was apparent from the moment you met him. He was also a shameless flirt, probably stemming from his days as a college football player, and incredibly attractive. His eyes were this ridiculously piercing shade of ice-blue, and if he was being particularly brazen with his flirting, he could make me completely forget whatever I was about to say. Finally, though, it seemed as though Easy was equipped with officers that we could all follow into battle.

* * *

**June 4, 1944**

"Soldiers of the regiment," came my godfather's voice through my friend's mouth. "Tonight is the night of nights…" George's voice returned to normal as he continued reading the letter that let us know that our lives were about to change forever. We'd spent most of the day gearing up, but we didn't know if it was just another training jump or the real thing. Now, it was hitting home. The war was real, and we would be in combat in a matter of hours. As George finished the letter, I stepped away so that I could gather my thoughts.

"Kaylee?" John Martin was walking up to me with a letter in his hand. "I have a problem." He handed me the letter from his wife, and my heart broke. I really needed to stop reading letters. My sweet Bill had talked many times about his brother Henry, who was a medic in Italy, and according to John's wife, he had been killed in January. Bill couldn't have known because he would have mentioned it, and now we were about to go on the biggest jump of our young lives and John wasn't sure if he should tell him.

"John, if it were me, I'd tell him. I know the timing is terrible, but he needs to know. I'll leave it up to you, but if you want me to be there, I will." He nodded and walked away, processing the information and trying to decide how to break the news to his friend.

Ducking under the wing of one of the planes, I stood in the shade and looked out at the men swarming the airfield. It occurred to me that some of them might never see daylight again. Joe was giving haircuts as we waited, eyes narrowed in concentration. He seemed to feel my stare and looked up to catch my eyes, silently asking if I was okay. My thoughts turned to whether that man was getting a trim for the last time or if, God forbid, Joe would ever pick up a razor or a pair of scissors again. I turned away.

I caught sight of Don, and I wondered for a moment if Anne was having their baby right now as we prepared for the jump. The thought sent a knife through my heart for several reasons. Of course I still loved him, but it seemed so out of place- a new life entering the world just as so many were preparing to leave it. He was staring at the letter from Colonel Sink, and I wondered if he was thinking the exact same thing. The deafening sounds of the airfield began to fade, and suddenly I was somewhere else entirely.

_I was standing outside of my body, watching and knowing that I was somehow glimpsing my future self. _

_I was cutting fresh vegetables in the beautiful, sunlit kitchen of a comfortable little house. My sundress showed the clear bump of a life growing inside me, and I was singing as I swayed to the sound of "Embraceable You" on the record player. I glanced into the living room and saw the angelic face of my son, his crayons spread across the floor, focused on the picture he was coloring for our refrigerator. He looked just like his daddy, right down to the tongue sticking out in concentration._

_A door closed, and I smiled as I felt my husband's arms wrap around my burgeoning belly, laying a soft kiss against my neck. We swayed together to the music, but only long enough for me to place the knife back on the counter. As soon as I did, he spun me around, expertly dipping me back and then pulling me up to meet his lips. I laughed, and I could hear his namesake giggling from the other room as he watched us._

_"Spaghetti and meatballs with a salad okay for dinner?"_

_"Baby, you know I love your cooking." I smiled at him and he kissed me again._

_"Good. Oh, and Bill called today."_

_"Yeah, I know. I called him earlier. He said that I needed to bring my beautiful wife and son to the reunion that he and Ranney put together. You gonna feel up to going? That's a long trip."_

_"I'll be okay, sweetheart. I've still got a couple of months before I get really uncomfortable. Besides, it will be good to see everybody."_

_"Good, because I've been thinking…"_

_"Oh, that's scary."_

_"Ha ha, very funny. Nevermind. I won't tell you then," he mock-pouted._

_"Aww, you know I'm teasing you," I consoled, kissing his cheek. "Tell me." A kiss on the lips. "Please." Another on the neck. His hands clenched my hips and I knew I had him._

_"Okay, okay, okay! You're killing me here. It's kinda funny that you're playing our song. I was just thinking maybe we could get married… again."_

_"What?" I must've looked incredibly confused, because he flashed a wide grin and laid out his idea._

_"Well, you never really got to have a wedding. I mean, I know you didn't care that we just went in front of the judge, but still. A woman should have a wedding. And what better time than on our 5th anniversary, in front of the people who were there when this all really started?"_

_"Do you really think…?"_

_"I already talked to Bill about it. He loved the idea. Said he could help us get everything arranged. You know he's always been a little sore about not being able to be there when you got married. Maybe he could walk you down the aisle?" he suggested, and I smiled at the thought. "What do you think? Kaylee? Sweetheart?"_

"Kaylee? You okay?" The voice snapped me back to reality, and I squinted into the fading sunlight as I looked up into the face of my daydream husband.

"Yeah. Yeah, Joe. I'm okay."


	14. Chapter 14

"The Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog. No jump tonight," announced Meehan.

There were grumbles amongst the men, not because we were all so eager to go to war, but because we now had at least another 24 hours to allow this jump to weigh on our minds. That night we all sat silently in the darkened room, still wearing our grease paint, as a movie that we no longer cared about was projected onto the screen. Even George Luz, famous for driving people crazy during movies, didn't speak a word.

I looked around me at the faces of the men I'd grown to love, and shuddered at the thought that there was no way we'd make it through this war intact. Then I noticed Bill with a piece of paper in his hand. The light of the projector flashed onto his face and I knew it must be the news that his brother was gone. He looked as though he was going to be sick or kill something, and he stood up to leave. I followed him quickly outside.

"Bill!" I called, and he turned slowly, jaw clenched. "Bill, I'm so sorry."

"You knew?"

"Johnny told me earlier, when he was trying to figure out how to tell you. I told him to come get me so that I could be there for you."

"I took his jacket by mistake. I…" he looked down at the ground as his voice trailed off. I stood still, letting him gather his thoughts. Finally, he pulled me into a crushing hug, resting his chin on my shoulder as I stroked his hair. "I'm just sorry for my ma, ya know? Losing us boys is gonna be hard on her."

"Don't talk that way, Bill. You're gonna get back to help her through it, okay? You've gotta be okay over there. I need you." I pulled back and made him look me in the eye until he nodded.

"Listen, Doll. You have to take care of yourself tomorrow, ya hear? No hero stuff. Whatever it takes for you to be safe, you do it. This Company would not be the same without you, and neither would any of the guys in it. Including me. When we hit the ground, you find us. Whatever it takes. You got it?" I nodded and he released me, kissing me on the cheek as he started away. "I'm gonna go for a walk and try to clear my head. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," I answered, watching him walk away into the rapidly deepening twilight.

"He okay?" came a voice from behind me. "John told me about his brother." I turned as Joe walked up behind me.

"Yeah. He's Bill. He has to be okay," I sighed. "At least, I hope he'll be okay."

"He'll be fine," Joe reassured, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me to him as he kissed my forehead. "Take a walk with me, princess."

We were quiet for a while, my arm in his as we strolled among the tents and looked over the planes and gliders that crowded the airfield. Finally, we stopped underneath the belly of one of them, and Joe laid out a blanket he'd been carrying under his arm, stretching out across it and motioning me to join. I stretched out beside him, propping myself up on one arm to look over at him.

"Got a letter from Rebecca today." Ah. His girl back home. It bothered me more than I was willing to admit, but I swallowed the feeling.

"Dear John letter?"

He smirked. "No. She was talking about everything back home. Said she found a house. Her parents are going to buy it for now, to keep 'til the war is over. Then we can buy it from them when I get home and we get married."

"Oh. Well… that sounds nice."

I tried not to sound disappointed. Joe was the most amazing guy I'd ever met in my life, and he'd been willing to sacrifice everything for me. He deserved a wife, and a house, and a family, and anything else he wanted. I just couldn't seem to shake that daydream from earlier, and I couldn't figure out why I'd had it in the first place. I tried to convince myself that it was because Joe and I were so close, and because he'd been so supportive of me after everything went sideways with Don. Yes, that had to be it. I was just worried about losing him as a friend if he got married.

He turned toward me, mirroring me as he leaned on his arm. I was suddenly acutely aware of how close we were.

"You think so? I don't know. And it feels like she's already decided our whole lives. I've never even seen this house. What if I don't like it? I mean, I might not even be the same person or want the same things by the time this war is over. I've already changed a lot, and we haven't even been into combat yet. What if I go back home as this new person and she doesn't want me anymore?"

I couldn't help but smile, and I put my hand over his. "Joe, sweetheart, there may be things about you that have changed. But you are still the same great man you were when I first met you at Toccoa. She's going to want you. Any woman in her right mind would want you."

He raised his eyebrows at the "any woman" remark, and chuckled when I blushed. Running his fingers across my reddened cheek, he spoke softly. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

"Thanks a lot. But you know what I meant. She will still want to be with you, Joe."

His face was serious now, his voice almost a whisper as his eyes burned into mine. "But what if I don't still want to be with her?" He let the words hang between us for a second before continuing. "I dream about you sometimes. About us."

My mouth dropped open, but I couldn't formulate words. His fingers slid up my cheek and into my hair, and it felt like we were moving in slow motion as I watched him lean into me.

"If something happened tomorrow and I hadn't done this, I'd never forgive myself," he offered by way of explanation, giving me no time to reply as his lips met mine.

My mind was racing but my body took control and I moved into his kiss. It was greedy and passionate. My tongue brushed his and he moaned in appreciation, pulling me closer. I was searching for answers.

What were these feelings of self-sacrifice and jealousy that we had, each willing to give up our own lives and happiness in favor of the other? Had I been so wrapped up in my depression that I'd been ignoring something that was right in front of me? I knew that Joe and I cared about each other. Was there more between us than we had explored before?

"You think too much," he whispered, trailing his mouth down my neck and sending fire racing through my veins. His hand slid over my hip to my rear and pressed my body flush against his. "Just kiss me, princess."

* * *

****JOE'S POV****

"Just kiss me, princess."

I felt the words leaving my mouth. They tasted better than I could've imagined. I'd wanted to kiss her almost since we met. It never occurred to me that she might want to kiss me back until I saw the way she'd been staring at me from under the plane earlier. A few hours ago, this was something that we'd only joked about in the two years we'd known each other. Now, with her body pressed against mine, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had taken me so long.

I leaned back across the blanket, dragging her with me as I went. She went willingly, her hips straddling mine and her hair tickling my face as we breathed each other in. There was no question in my mind that she could feel how turned on I was. If we'd have been anywhere but on that airstrip, preparing to jump into a war, I'd have taken her right then and there. If she had been anyone else, I wouldn't have cared that we were on an airstrip preparing to jump into war. She deserved better.

She deserved candlelight and soft music. She deserved a husband and a house and a million little babies that looked just like her, if that's what she wanted. Lately, in my dreams, that husband had been me. I rolled us so that I could look down at her.

"Kaylee, I need to say something to you before we jump tomorrow. Just let me get it out before you say anything, please." God, this was going to be harder that I thought. What if she didn't feel…? "I need you to know that I love you. And that I think I'm falling in love with you, and that you have to take care of yourself over there. You just have to. Because if anything happened to you, it would kill me. So you have to be safe tomorrow, and you have to find me as soon as you can so that I can take care of you, so we can make it through this war together… so that when we get home, I can take you out on a real date."

It came out of me in one long rush and when I finished, I sucked in a deep breath and held it, waiting for her reaction. She propped herself up on her elbows underneath me and pressed her lips to mine in a chaste kiss.

"So what you're saying is," she whispered, curling her fingers behind my neck, "that you hope, sometime very soon, to be kissing me on a beach in California?"

I sighed, "You'd like it in California, Kaylee. The Golden Gate Bridge and the lights. Cute little houses. Restaurants and museums and music and beaches…"

"And you," she finished, smiling and lying back against the blanket. "How could I not love California if California has you?" I moved to kiss her again but she stopped me, suddenly serious. "I love you, Joe. And I need you to stick around long enough for me to find out if I'm falling in love with you, so you just aren't allowed to get hit. You hear me?"

I nodded, losing myself in her kiss again. "I hear you, baby."


	15. Chapter 15

**** JOE'S POV ****

I wrote two letters when I got back to my tent that night. The first was one that I'd needed to write for a long time. It just took kissing Katie-Lynn to make me do it. It was so different than kissing Rebecca. Rebecca left me satisfied, but Kaylee set me on fire. Where the marriage idea came from, I had no idea. In the years we'd been going back and forth, I'd been content with the way things were, but I was never really willing to make a commitment to Rebecca. I finally understood why. How could I marry Rebecca if I could still fall in love with somebody else?

_Rebecca,_

_You know I've never been very good at things like this. If I had more time, I'd think of a better way to do this, but I'm about to jump into war. I apologize if anything comes across as harsh. I don't mean for it to._

_If anything in any of my letters sounded like a proposal or that I was even considering marriage, I'm sorry. We weren't even seeing each other when I left. I know that the signals have always been mixed between us, and I'm as much to blame for that as anyone. We need to stop this, and stop wasting each other's time._

_You deserve someone great, Bec. And you will find him. But it's not me. I care for you, and I respect you. I just can't marry you. Move on with your life. Be happy. Get married and have ten kids. Live a long, happy life with a man who can love and commit to you in the way that I never could._

_Take care of yourself, Rebecca._

_Joe_

I felt a little relief when I finished writing Rebecca's letter. I felt a lot more the next morning when I handed it over to be mailed.

The second letter was tucked into the pocket of Kaylee's shirt. I couldn't just hand it to her the next morning. It would've felt like a goodbye, and I couldn't afford to think that way. On the same token, I knew that there was a good chance we would get separated during the jump, at least for a little while. I wanted her to have something to hold onto until we found our way back to each other. I snuck into her tent after she was asleep.

* * *

At dusk the call came to line up by our planes. My boys hugged me as they moved to follow the order, reminding me to be careful and to find one of them as soon as I landed. Everybody wanted to recheck my gear. They were babying me, but it was sweet.

Joe looked down at me and winked, running his thumb across my cheek.

"I'll see you in France, princess." Then he was gone, and someone was helping me onto the plane.

I heard the paper crinkling in my pocket as I tightened the strap on my pack. I pulled it out, recognizing Joe's scrawl. When had he had time to put a letter in my pocket? He would've had to sneak into my tent after I was sleeping. I smiled at the thought, mostly because I had done the same thing early that morning, and put his letter back into my pocket.

The darkness and the air-sickness pills were combining to make all of us a bit drowsy. The dull roar of the engine had almost lulled me to sleep when I began to hear the pop of anti-aircraft fire. It was almost time. The noises were louder now, and we stood to hook up in the glow of the red light. The plane was bouncing terribly from the flak, and we were flying too low and too fast. We could hear the clanking of metal and see the balls of fire around us as other planes got hit. It was terrifying. The adrenalin began to course through us, and we were desperate to get out. Then the light was green.

The prop blast hit me and I was ripped away from the plane and into the night sky. I could see the shadows of other chutes, lit by flak bursts and tracer bullets. It looked like the ground below me was on fire, and somehow I knew that I was looking down at the ruined planes of my comrades. We had probably lost so many and we were just getting out of the planes. I clutched my risers tightly as I watched the ground come up to meet me.

When I landed, I was alone. Nothing looked familiar. I had to be in the wrong drop zone. I could hear voices around me and they weren't speaking English. My limited German told me that they had seen me come down and were looking for me. I quickly checked to see what supplies I had left since the prop blast had taken my leg bag. My gun had been ripped away as well, and all I had left was my knife. I wasn't equipped to fight off more than one armed German without a gun, so I did the only thing I could. I hit my knees and began to crawl. I made it about a hundred yards when I felt the sharp kick in my stomach.

* * *

**** JOE'S POV ****

I'd managed to find a group, some Easy Company and some not, to travel with. I'd kept my gun on the way down, which was nice because many of the guys seemed to have lost theirs. We had clearly been dropped over the wrong zone. Had the same thing happened to the rest of Easy? To Katie-Lynn? Luz snapped me out of my thoughts as we moved forward.

"She's okay, Joe. Don't even think anything otherwise."

The next day brought more arrivals. I saw Winters and Lipton. Malarkey was with them and I found myself hoping that she would be with him. She wasn't. Bill and Toye were though, and I met them as they walked up.

"Have you seen her, Bill?" He shook his head and I sighed and kicked the dirt.

"You haven't seen her? She's gotta be in the wrong DZ. They dropped us all over the place."

He was stern, his jaw clenched, and I wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince me or himself. He was still angry over his brother, and I knew that he didn't even want to entertain the thought of losing someone else important to him right now. I didn't either. I refocused my attention on the moonlit train tracks in front of us and kept moving. Persistence eventually paid off and we reached the rally point. Much of the Company was still unaccounted for, including everyone from Meehan's plane. I tried to ignore the gnawing in my stomach.

Toye said firmly, "I'm sure she's hooked up with somebody. She'll be here soon. It's just slow going with all the fields flooded. Our little warrior princess will be just fine."

* * *

The German soldier had stumbled across me in the dark. I hadn't had time to react before the kick hit my gut. Instinctively, I curled up to protect myself and received another sharp kick in the ribs. I was nauseated and gasping, trying desperately to catch my breath. The barrel of his weapon knocked my helmet off as he held a Luger against my temple. My hair tumbled down and I heard him mutter something that I could only gather was a curse word. He had not been expecting a woman.

It seemed to work in my favor, at least for a moment. He moved the gun and reached for my arm, pulling me to my feet. His eyes glinted in the moonlight like a predator. Then I felt the cold metal of the pistol running down my cheek and neck toward my breasts. My ribs were aching and I felt like throwing up, especially when I considered what this sleazy Nazi soldier might be thinking.

The adrenalin kicked in again and I shoved him away, angering him. He backhanded me with the Luger and my cheek felt like it was going to explode. I was seeing stars but the coppery taste of my blood in my mouth infuriated me. He lunged for me again, but I already had my hand on my trench knife. It happened quickly and felt like an out-of-body experience. His attack and my counter. The surprised look on his face as the blade met his stomach. The way he fell. The silence that followed.

I re-sheathed my knife and shouldered his rifle, stuffing the Luger into my pack. Then I resumed my lonely walk through the French countryside. The going was slow because of the pain, and my difficulty catching my breath convinced me that I probably had at least one broken rib. After a few hours, I heard a rustling nearby and froze. Then came the most beautiful sound in the world.

Click.

Click-click.

"Katie-Lynn?"

"Tab?"

"Oh my God, Kaylee! What happened to you?"

"Shifty? Oh, thank God. I'm so glad to see you guys."

Shifty was checking me over. "Kaylee, what the hell happened to you? Your face! And you sound like you can't breathe!"

"I'm okay. We have to keep moving. I'll tell you all about it after we find Easy."

We pushed on, moving as quickly as my battered body would allow. More than once, Shifty or Tab offered to carry me. I just couldn't allow it. I didn't want to hinder anyone from reaching his weapon or finding cover. We did the best we could, fighting when we had to and moving steadily toward our intended rally point.

Daylight came quickly. As we passed the wreckage of yet another plane, Talbert noticed a blonde soldier staring up into the sun and called out to him. It was Albert Blithe, a member of our first platoon. He turned, his wide blue eyes staring but seeming to see nothing. Finally, our faces must have registered and he moved toward us. His voice was almost robotic. He was alone, and although he said he'd been looking for Easy Company, I got the distinct feeling that he'd been in much the same spot since we landed.

As Talbert was trying to get his attention, I leaned against the wreckage for a moment to catch my breath. The left side of my ribs and the right side of my face were aching, and my vision was still affected from my swollen eye and cheek. I sipped water from my canteen and tried to push the pain to the back of my mind. I adjusted my pack again and heard a crinkle. Joe's letter. Looking up to see that Talbert and Blithe were still talking, I pulled the letter from my pocket and opened it.

_My beautiful Katie Baby,_

_I'm so torn right now. Half of my heart wishes like hell that I could find a way to send you home before this jump. The other half can't imagine being here without you. If there is any good to come of this war, it will be that we met._

_If you're reading this right now, we were probably separated on the jump. I hope you are safe, and that you're not alone. Don't worry about me. You know that I'm a fighter, and I will find a way to get to you. Until then, I'll be thinking of you every minute. Sweetheart, please be careful. You're the toughest woman that I know, but don't be a hero out there._

_This is so much harder to write than I thought it would be. I know you don't want to talk about this, but I have to say it. If something happens to me… if I don't make it to you… if I never touch your face or hold your hand or kiss you again… I'm always going to be with you Katie-Lynn. I'll protect you with everything I have, even if I'm gone._

_Tonight, on that blanket with you, was one of the greatest nights of my life. I hope we both live to be 100 so that we can do that for the next 75 years. I want you to know that I never proposed to Rebecca, and I have no idea where she got the idea that we were going to get married. I've written her a letter to end things for good._

_I don't know what will happen. Whether we will remain friends forever or go back to Frisco, get married and make a hundred babies. I'm not even sure whether we will make it home at all, and I need to say this even though I know you don't want to hear a goodbye. If I die tomorrow, I need to know that you have this piece of me to hold onto._

_No matter what happens with us, you have to know how I feel about you. I thought I was on my way, but the feeling in my chest as you walked away to return to your tent tonight, or when I try to imagine a life without you… I'm in love with you, Katie-Lynn. When this war is over, I want to be with you. But promise me, if I don't make it, that you will find someone and be happy. Just don't forget about me… about how much we mean to each other… about how much I will always love you._

_Be safe, sweetheart. See you soon._

_Joe_

Shifty called my name and I put the letter away, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"You okay, darlin'? That cheek looks even worse in the daylight. I wish you'd tell us what happened. The boys are gonna have a fit when they see you. Bill. Doc. Especially Joe."

"Yeah, sweetie," I lied, refusing to entertain the thought that Joe might be dead. "It's just an ache. Let's keep moving. I think we're almost there."


	16. Chapter 16

**** JOE'S POV ****

Two days. It had been two fucking days and she was still missing. I felt like I was coming out of my skin.

The best part of the last two days had been the assault on Brecourt Manor, mostly because I hadn't had time to dwell on where Katie-Lynn might be. I did feel a small pang in my heart when I saw Malarkey run out into the field looking for a Luger. Regardless of what was happening between them, I knew she'd be crushed if he were to get killed. When he scrambled back, dodging bullets and without a Luger, I yanked him back over the berm and gave him a stern look.

"I realize that this is war, but you have a family to think about now. Not to mention your friends. Don't be an idiot." He looked surprised, but nodded.

We took a few casualties and Popeye Wynn got wounded in the ass, but we completed the takedown and were later commended for saving countless lives on Utah Beach. I'd take time to celebrate that later. Right now, I was only worried about one life. I sat on the wall, watching the buzz of activity around me and staring down the road that she should be approaching from. At the moment, it was empty.

I reached for my cigarettes and a found a piece of paper instead. A letter from Kaylee. I almost didn't want to read it. I folded it back up, intending to put it back in my pocket, but I couldn't make my hand release it. Sighing, I snapped the page open again.

_Dear Joe,_

_So, you reached for your cigarettes, which means you're anxious about something. If I had to guess, I'd say that you and I haven't found each other yet. Don't waste a whole pack worrying about me, Joe. I'll be okay. I'm sure that we will find each other soon._

_I never could've anticipated what's happened between us when I first got to Toccoa. Don't get me wrong. I've always been attracted to you._

_Don't smirk. You know how irresistible you are. Remember that New Year's dream I had about you?_

_But every day that has passed… every difficult moment I've had… you've shown me that side of yourself that you always try to cover up with your snark and sarcasm. You're a sweetheart in disguise, Joe. And now you're smiling. That full-on smile that I love, and wherever I am right now, I'm thinking about that smile._

_I don't want this to sound like a goodbye, because the last thing I want is for you to be distracted thinking that something has happened to me, but there are some things I want you to know… just in case._

_Maybe it is the reality of war, or maybe I'm just the only female you've really been around for the last two years. I don't know. I don't know where things stand with you and Rebecca. I'd never want to come in between a relationship as long and established as what the two of you seem to have. You care for her. I'm not looking to change that. I care about you, and I want you to make it through this war, go home and be happy._

_Tonight on that blanket, it felt so natural to be close to you and to kiss you. For a moment, I was worried that it would be strange to move so quickly from friendship to something more. Then I realized that it wasn't so sudden. It was something that had been slowly evolving over the last two years. We've gotten close. You've been there for me through everything. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you. If something happens to me, I need you to know that._

_If I do find my way back to you, nothing has to change. If Rebecca makes you happy, I'll be happy for you, and I will always value your friendship. I know you, and I know that you probably felt guilty about what happened tonight. I heard what you said to Don that night on the ship, when you thought I was asleep, and I know that the thought has probably crossed your mind that this is somehow the same… it's not. Don't do that to yourself. We'll be okay. We always are._

_Hang in there, sweetheart. One way or another, I'll be beside you. I love you, Joe._

_Katie-Lynn_

"Do you love her?" The voice startled me and I turned to see Malarkey beside me with a pained look on his face.

"Huh?"

"Katie-Lynn. Do you love her?" I looked away, folding the letter and stuffing it back into my pocket, but finally nodded. "Good. She'll be fine, Joe. She'll get here." Then he walked away and I sighed, hoping he was right.

I glanced back at the road, and I could make out a group moving slowly toward us. One of them was clearly injured so I yelled for Doc and he took off down the road to help. I watched as he knelt and lifted the injured trooper onto his back. Who would be small enough for him to piggy-back like that? They got close enough for me to recognize faces at about the same time that I realized that it could only be…

"Kaylee!" I met Doc at a dead sprint. "Is she okay? What can I do?"

"She's hurt, Joe. I've gotta check her out. Follow me and maybe you can help her deal with the pain while I look her over."

"Pain? What the fuck do you mean, she's hurt? Tab? What happened to her?"

"I don't know, Joe. She wouldn't tell us. We found her like that last night. She's been moving on her own, but she's having trouble catching her breath. And you're really gonna be pissed when you get a good look at her face."

He was right. When I followed Doc into the makeshift aid station where he had placed her on a table, she had pulled off her uniform top to allow him access to her ribs. She'd been kicked. I knew without asking, because I could make out the marks left by the laces of a boot. There was an angry bruise, and Doc mentioned a broken rib.

"Wrap it, Gene. I'm not coming off the line."

"Katie-Lynn, you're having trouble breathing."

"Wrap it! I'll live."

"What about your face? What if you have broken bones?"

"I'll be fine. Nothing is broken there. Just swollen. It'll heal. Come on, Gene. Wrap my ribs."

Stubborn ass woman. I walked around the other side of the table to get closer to her, and I caught my first glimpse of her face. Before I could speak, Bill, George, and Don came into the tent to check on her, led by Tab and Shifty.

"Sorry, Katie. They wouldn't let up until they saw you for themselves," Talbert explained.

Bill took the words out of my mouth. "What the fuck happened to you out there, Doll? Not that I'm complaining about your shirt being off, but are you okay?" She started to laugh, but winced at the pain instead, turning to face the curious group.

"Oh my God, Katie-Lynn! Your face!" Malarkey's mouth was hanging open.

Shifty chimed in. "Okay, we're back with Easy now. Tell us what happened out there."

* * *

Doc had wrapped my ribs as best he could, and was now cleaning blood from my face. They were all standing around me, staring at me expectantly. I thought about trying to avoid the conversation entirely, but then Winters and Nixon stepped into the tent.

"I already know you're going to fight me about coming off the line, but I need to know what happened out there, Katie-Lynn." I sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you. But with all due respect, Lt. Winters, I'm not coming off the line. Broken rib or not." He nodded, so I continued.

"I landed alone in the wrong DZ. Lost my leg bag and my gun," I started. I recounted the details of my first night in Normandy. Of the German soldier's brutality, and his lust. Of the kick to my ribs and the Luger to my cheek. "So after he hit me with the gun, he lunged for me again and I stabbed him in the stomach with my trench knife. Then I took his weapons and started moving forward again. A few hours later, Tab and Shifty found me. Now, here we are. Gene, can you get this damn blood off of my hands, please?"

Joe let out a string of curses and walked outside to calm down. The others hugged me gently, including Malarkey. As he stepped back, I smacked him in the chest and he looked up at me in surprise.

"I heard about Brecourt, you idiot. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't, Kaylee. I haven't been thinking straight since we got here. Honestly, at that moment, I didn't really care if I got shot."

"Well, that's stupid. You have something to live for, Don. The baby didn't do anything wrong. And I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially not over a stupid Luger. Here." I pulled the Luger from my pack and handed it to him. He looked at me in shock for a moment, and then hugged me again.

"You need to talk to Joe. He's been a wreck the last couple of days."

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. I was ready to grab my gun and go looking for Germans. They were going to pay for every single second she spent in pain. I felt guilty for walking out of there, but looking at her like that just made me want to beat the shit out of something.

I was fumbling for a cigarette when I felt a small hand on mine.

"Joe?"

I opened my eyes and squinted into the sunlight. It looked eerily like a halo around her. I reached out to pull her gently toward me, not wanting to hurt her. She leaned against my chest and I kissed the top of her head.

"You scared the shit out of me, Katie-Lynn. I'm never letting you out of my sight again. I hope you know that."

"I love you too, Joe."


	17. Chapter 17

**June 29, 1944**

**** JOE'S POV ****

She scared the hell out of me when we jumped into Normandy. It was a form of torture not to know where she was. It was another to see her injured and in pain. I marched into Carentan with a purpose. I wanted to hurt someone. I looked down the barrel of my gun as though every German on the other end had been that bastard who had found her on D-Day.

We had taken Carentan, but many had been lost in the action since D-Day, and it weighed heavy on our minds as we were finally relieved back to Aldbourne for rest, retooling, and replacements. Men who had been with us since Toccoa were being replaced by new faces, and although we knew they weren't at fault, it was a bitter pill to swallow. The thought of someone replacing Katie-Lynn crossed my mind and it almost made me sick.

* * *

My ribs were still a little sore, but my face no longer looked as though I'd lost a boxing match. I was glad of that, because at least the guys stopped wincing every time they saw me. It took a lot of convincing for them not to feel guilty about what had happened to me, especially Joe. I knew what I was getting into, and they had no reason to feel bad. They had their own lives to worry about.

We lost a lot of men between D-Day and Carentan, and it felt like we had aged years in a matter of weeks. The rest in Aldbourne was a welcome one, but with it came replacements; reminders of those who had been killed or wounded. They were a bit in awe of us, with the stars over our jump wings and our battle experience, but they were too green to understand the reality of combat. They also knew that they were probably replacing one of our friends, which didn't do much to lessen the pressure. I almost felt bad for them.

The day that they joined us, Joe had been unusually quiet. As he looked at the fresh, starry-eyed faces, I could tell that he was thinking about something. It almost looked as though he were studying them to see if he could find those we had lost. I tried to ask him, but he was reluctant to tell me about it. It wasn't until later that night that he finally confessed.

I found him sitting against a stone wall overlooking a field near our barracks, watching the sunset and smoking a cigarette. I stopped beside him, looking out at the sinking sun, and he reached up and grabbed my hand, pulling me down. He seated me between his legs and I rested comfortably against his chest, leaning my head back on his shoulder.

"You wanna tell me what you were thinking about today?"

He didn't answer right away. Finally, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat, as if he were having a hard time forcing the words out.

"I was thinking what I'd do if one of those new guys were here to replace you. The thought made my stomach turn."

I turned so that I could look up at him. He had finished his cigarette, but he was still staring out at the twilight.

"I'm here, Joe. I'm okay. I'm here with you."

He looked down at me, searching my eyes for a minute and then pulled me fully into his lap. The kiss was long and slow, our hands tangling in each other's hair and neither of us willing to be the first to pull away.

"Don't be mad at me, but I wish you weren't," he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine.

"You don't want me here?"

"No."

"Oh."

I tried not to sound hurt, knowing that he wanted me safe, but I guess I was hoping to at least hear that he was at least happy to have me with him. He wasn't finished though.

"If I had it my way, you would be on your way home to San Francisco."

I looked up at him, clearly surprised, and he continued.

"Yeah. I want to know that you are on your way to Frisco right now. That my mom and sisters are going to meet you and help you pick out a little house. That my dad and my brothers are helping move your stuff from Oregon. That when this war is over, I've got you to come back home to. That you'll be the first face I see when I walk in the door."

I had tears in my eyes when he kissed me this time, and I felt him wiping them away with his thumb. Together, we stretched out across the soft grass and he looked down at me as he stroked my cheek.

"I can't have anything happen to you, Katie-Lynn. I know how tough you are, but seeing you hurt like that was…"

"I'll be careful. Besides, all of Easy Company is looking out for me. And I've got you. G.I. Joe."

That drew a small smile, and a quick kiss. He pulled away slightly, his face serious and his eyes searching mine.

"You'll always have me, baby."

I bit my lip and leaned into him. He watched me until my lips met his again, when his eyes finally fluttered closed. I felt his arms wrap around me and I was instantly transported back to the night before we jumped. That night marked the division in our lives.

Before D-Day and After D-Day.

We had been through a lot together before that first, tentative kiss under the airplane. We had been through even more since then. He was right. The idea of some replacement coming in to take his spot on the line was gut-wrenching and I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging him closer to reassure myself that he was real.

It wasn't enough. My hands worked as if they had a mind of their own, unbuttoning his shirt and sliding my nails along his chest and abdomen. He groaned at the feeling, and the fire in his kiss demonstrated the effect my touch was having on him. I felt his hand on my side, restless and desperate to explore.

His fingers fisted around the material of my trousers. The kiss was hungry and desperate, brought on by two days of not knowing if the other had lived or died, and three weeks of running through bullets, bayonets, blood, and bodies. It was brought on by months of unsolicited, undemanding support, and three years of friendship full of suppressed emotions and unspoken desire. There was more heat and passion in that kiss than in anything I'd ever experienced in my life, and my whole body responded.

"Wait. Katie, wait. We have to stop. I can't do this."


	18. Chapter 18

**** JOE POV ****

I could see the confusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just… don't want to jump in and change everything between us just because we had a scary month."

Now she looked hurt. Shit.

"I wasn't aware that's what we were doing, Joe. I thought we'd been building something for a while."

"Yeah, but so had you and Don and look how that turned out. A one night stand on the ship and a pregnancy scare, and now you hardly speak."

Have you ever had one of those moments when a thought you meant to keep to yourself comes slipping out of your mouth? When you wish like hell that you could reel it back in before it reaches the other person, because you know that it is not going to come across well? This was that moment. Her face changed from hurt to utter devastation, and I knew instantly that I had said the wrong thing.

"Wow. Okay. Point taken."

She got up quickly, dusting herself off and pulling away as I reached for her hand.

"Katie-Lynn, wait. I didn't mean it like that. I just…"

"Yeah. Yeah, you did, Joe. There isn't exactly a lot of room for interpretation there."

"I'm sorry. I…"

I had no idea what to say to fix it.

"Me too."

Then she was gone. She headed back toward the bunks, leaving me sitting against that wall with my cigarettes and my thoughts. I knew I should have started thinking before I spoke.

* * *

**** DON POV ****

I stepped out of the barracks just as Katie-Lynn rounded the corner. She ran headlong into my chest, and I had to catch her around the waist to keep from knocking her down.

"Woah! You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry about that. Wasn't paying attention."

Something was wrong. She was definitely upset, and trying to play it off in front of me. I pulled her over to a quiet spot just beside the barracks so we had a bit of privacy, and she mumbled toward my chest.

"What's up, Don?"

"You first. What's wrong?"

I waited for her to decide if she should tell me. Finally, she began to talk, still not looking at me. Joe had managed to really put his foot in his mouth. I knew that she had struggled with guilt over what happened between us. Joe knew it too, which is why it surprised me that he would say something so thoughtless, but I didn't believe for a second that he had done it maliciously. I tried to convey that to her, but she wasn't having it.

"I know he probably said it without thinking, Don. That's what bothers me. Because if he said it off the top of his head, it means that is what he really thinks."

Well, she had me there. I wasn't sure exactly how to respond, and we were quiet for a second.

"Don…?"

"Yeah?"

She looked up at me, her eyes full of tears and questions, and that familiar electricity crackled between us. I hadn't realized until that moment that my hands were still on her hips. She was so close. I knew deep down that I couldn't, but God, how I wanted to kiss her. Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip as if she could hear my thoughts.

"Do you think things will ever be the same between us? Can we be friends again? Or do you think we messed everything up?"

"No, Kaylee. No we. I messed everything up. But we can fix it, okay?"

She leaned into my hug, resting her head against my chest.

"I've missed you."

"I know, sweetheart. I've missed you too."

"Wow. Didn't waste any time, did you?"

Our heads snapped toward the source of the voice. Joe had chosen that moment to come around the corner, hearing only the "I miss yous" and seeing Katie-Lynn in my arms. His defensive nature kicked in immediately, and he assumed the worst.

"Joe, man, it's not like that."

"Spare me, Malarkey. You've been looking for a way to move back in on her since you got that letter a month ago, and it's not like she ever stopped loving you. I guess I was just a placeholder."

"I haven't even told her about the letter, Joe. You're being an asshole right now, and you need to think about what you're saying."

"Whatever, man. You got what you wanted."

He turned on his heel and walked off before Kaylee or I could respond, yanking his cigarettes out of his pocket and heading back toward the field. She was crying now, and looking up at me, confused.

"What the hell is he talking about, Don?"

I sighed. I'd been trying to fix our friendship for a while, and I hadn't said anything about the letter because things were still so confusing between us. Just like my wanting to kiss her a few minutes before. I didn't want to hurt her again when she finally seemed happy, so I had kept my mouth shut. Damn it, Joe.

"I got a letter from Anne's sister before we jumped. She wanted to warn me that Anne had been seeing another man around the time she got pregnant. Kaylee… there is a really good chance that the baby isn't mine."


	19. Chapter 19

**SHORT BUT NECESSARY CHAPTER... Gotta get from one place to the next, ya know? I'm so sorry about the delays in updating (And the length of this chapter)... I have two jobs &amp; school, and I'm taking a summer class that crams a whole semester into 5 weeks, so my time to devote to writing has been limited a bit. Since I'd rather take a little extra time and make it good than to write fast, I'm doing the best I can. :) Thanks to EVERYBODY who reads, reviews, follows, and favorites!**

* * *

**** DON POV ****

"I didn't say anything because I'm not completely sure yet what is going on, and I wasn't trying to confuse you or cause problems. I accepted that you and Joe were developing something. I just wanted to fix our friendship. I don't know what Joe's problem is. I already told him all of this. If you want, I can try to talk to him."

"No, Don. It's fine. Let him think what he wants. If he's just saying it out of anger, he'll cool off and apologize. If he really thinks that I would just jump back and forth within a couple of minutes, then…"

She was getting choked up now, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It seems like every time I touch you, all I do is cause a problem for you."

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

I turned and walked away, and I knew as soon as I turned the corner that I had completely overreacted. Malarkey had come to me first when he got the letter. He told me that he didn't want to cause problems or confuse Katie-Lynn, especially when he didn't really know what was going on. He had stayed true to his word, and because I was upset with myself over saying something stupid earlier, I blew up over nothing.

I wish I could say that I turned around right then and apologized, but my pride and stubbornness wouldn't let me. At first, she tried to talk to me, waiting for me by my bunk or outside a door way, but I never really gave her the chance to say anything. I let it fester, eating away at me as I watched Don and Kaylee rebuild their friendship and grow close again. Eventually, she stopped seeking me out. It was then that I realized how badly I had screwed up.

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

I didn't give up on Joe. I just got tired of trying to apologize when I hadn't done anything wrong. I would wait for him, and he would pass me by as though I wasn't standing there. Don would just watch the exchange and shake his head. It got old. Him punishing me for two months over nothing was ridiculous. I missed him terribly, but I wasn't going to beg.

"Kaylee… I got a letter from Anne."

Don and I had been working hard to repair our friendship, and we had spent a lot of time talking about Anne, the baby, and the letter from her sister. He was having a hard time, and I helped him write Anne a letter. He'd gotten used to the idea of being a father, and now it was in jeopardy. It was early September when he found me alone in the medical supply room, rolling bandages.

"What does it say?"

"I don't know. I haven't read it yet."

"Sweetheart, you've gotta read it."

"I know. I'm just scared, Kaylee. What am I going to do if it's true?"

"I don't know. You've gotta work this out on your own. What are you going to do?"

"The baby was the only thing holding me to her, really. The only reason I was going to try to make it work."

"Okay. And if there is no baby?"

He walked around the table where I was standing and took my hand, running his fingers down my cheek. His face was serious as his eyes searched mine.

"Kaylee, I've tried really hard not to complicate things. It hasn't been easy. Spending all this time with you again… talking… laughing… being near you… I've missed you."

His voice was low, and my breath caught in my throat as he leaned toward me. His lips met mine and I squeezed my eyes shut, allowing him to coax my mouth open. The kiss was slow and deliberate. I could tell it was something that he had wanted to do for a while. His hand slid to the small of my back, pressing me forward into him, and my arms went around his neck without my telling them to do so. His tongue swept across mine again. That familiar fire was burning, and we both knew what it was building toward, so we pulled away, breathless.

"I don't want to confuse you. I know I have some things to figure out, and I know you love Joe, but I've missed that so much, baby girl. And if there really is no baby… nothing holding me back… I'm not gonna lie… I'm gonna fight for you."


	20. Chapter 20

"You've got to read that letter, Don."

I was still breathless from the kiss. He had his forehead against mine, still looking into my eyes. He had said that he would fight to be with me if there was no baby, and I had no idea what to say. My heart had been his for so long, and then Joe had come along and I began to move on. I loved Joe. I'd been thinking about a life with Joe. But Joe had decided that he didn't want me. The man who had been my rock when everything was going crazy was suddenly running away at the first sign of trouble between us. Don didn't want to confuse me, but I was definitely confused.

"I know," he sighed, tearing open the envelope. "Here goes nothing."

_Dear Don,_

_I'm sorry that my sister sent you such a vicious letter. You have enough to worry about over there without this too. I absolutely deny any claim she made about our child not being yours. If you could see his face, you wouldn't have any doubts either. He looks just like you, right down to the red hair. I'm not sure if you'll believe me, or how I would go about proving it to you. I can tell you that you should remember all of the stories about the sort of person my sister is. The lengths that she has always gone to trying to make my life miserable. _

_Perhaps the best thing to do at this point is to be completely honest and let you make up your mind. We had something wonderful once, and if we were ever to have it again, it would have to be because we had cleared the air. There was another man in my life for a while. I knew that you had feelings for Katie-Lynn, and I suspected that something had happened between you that made you postpone the wedding. There was a young man who worked for my father, and he paid a lot of attention to me. We went out a few times. Kissed… sometimes heavily. Shortly after you left on your last visit, we wound up in bed together. There. I said it. I slept with another man. It's not something I am proud of, but I can assure you that there is no way he could be the father._

_I've done a lot that I'm not proud of, and having our son has given me reason to reflect on a lot of it. My father had some pretty serious talks with me as well, and I need to apologize to you. And to Katie-Lynn. I sought to drive a wedge between the two of you from the beginning, when the truth is that she never really did anything to me. She was your friend, and I should have respected that. I knew that she was in love with you, and who could blame her? But I know now that had she truly believed that I was going to make you happy, she would have been able to move on. I couldn't imagine our son losing a lifelong friend because of another woman. I would want him to be surrounded by as much love as possible._

_Please tell her that I am so sorry. She had so many chances to lash out at me, especially when I visited Toccoa, but she didn't. I know it was because your happiness was more important to her. I know you love her, Don. I know it, and I know that something has happened between the two of you. Honestly, it's okay. I made that decision too. And if you choose to try and make a life with her, I will try to understand. But I truly think that, if you will trust me and give me the opportunity to show you who I am now, you and I can have a wonderful life together. I want that. You, me, and our son… and hopefully, more kids when you get home. And I would love it if Katie-Lynn would be the loving aunt and godmother. I promise you both that I will not treat her as I did before. It's up to you now, sweetheart. I love you._

_Love,_

_Anne_

A small photograph of a little boy who looked to be a few months old fell to the table, and we both looked down. Staring up at us was the tiny face of Donald Malarkey's son. Anne was right. There was no mistaking the resemblance. Don picked the photo up and ran a tender finger over the cheek of the child. His eyes were misty, and I smiled at his awed expression.

"This is my little boy. My son."

His eyes met mine, and we both let the tears fall. They were tears of joy and acceptance, with a hint of bittersweet in knowing that we could not be together. We would always love each other and, if what Anne's letter said was true, be a part of each other's lives. But it was time to move on. He did love her, and they had a family; one that I would apparently be welcomed into. Now, I needed to figure out my own future, and whether there would be a family of my own after the war.

"Write her back, Don. Tell her I'm sorry too, and that I would be honored to be an aunt and godmother."

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me so tightly that I almost couldn't breathe.

"I'm so grateful to have you in my life. I promise that I will never let our friendship go again. My little boy deserves the best aunt in the world. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Don. And I am so happy for you. You're going to be a wonderful father when we get home."

He backed up a bit, looking down at me with concern.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know yet. But yeah, I'll be alright. Things will all work out somehow, right? I mean, there's gotta be somebody out there for me."

"There is, sweetheart. Everything happens for a reason, and there was a reason we weren't meant to be. That means that you were meant to be with somebody else. And much as I hate to admit it, I kinda feel like, after everything we've been through over the last couple of years, Joe still might be that somebody. I'm not saying that the way he has acted is okay, but if he does get his act together and tries to make things right… give him a chance."

"And if he doesn't?"

Before he could answer, Bill poked his head around the corner and then stepped into the room.

"Come on you two lovebirds. Break it up. We're all going out for a drink tonight."

"Then marry Bill," Don shrugged in answer to my question.

I laughed and hugged him again.

"Wait, I thought you two were finally… What the hell just happened?" Bill asked, looking between us.

"We talked about it. Don's got a kid and a fiancé. I'm an aunt and godmother. Joe has an attitude problem. Don says that if he doesn't get it together, I should marry you."

Don nodded, arms still wrapped around me.

"Hey, Malark! If that's my future wife, ya better back off!" Bill teased, then he patted Don on the back. "Glad you two finally figured this crazy relationship of yours out. Let's go to the pub and celebrate."

* * *

**** BILL POV ****

I was so sick and tired of Joe ignoring Katie-Lynn. I knew that it was his pride getting the best of him. He'd already admitted to me that he had screwed up, but two months had passed and he still hadn't tried to fix it. I don't know if he thought that she was going to wind up with Don or what, but any of us that had seen the two of them together knew better. I think even Don knew that what Joe and Kaylee had was something special.

Now that things were finally settled between Don and Kaylee, I decided that I was going to give Joe the swift kick in the ass that he desperately needed. Otherwise, Malark was right. I was going to just take her all for myself. Maybe Joe just needed to see what it would be like if he really did lose her for good.

That night at the pub, I let a few guys in on my idea, and managed to convince Don to go along with it without telling Katie that we were purposely trying to piss Joe off. The plan was simple enough. No lies. Half-truths maybe, but no lies. Harmless really.

We were all enjoying the evening, and Don made sure to make casual contact with Katie-Lynn in Joe's direct line of sight several times. A hand on the back. A hug. A kiss on the top of the head. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I could see that it was starting to grate on Joe's nerves. I waited until he was at the stage of chewing on his lip and looking at the floor before I walked over to him and handed him a beer.

"Hey, here ya go. Buying everybody a round to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"Oh, you didn't hear? Malark is engaged."

His eyes snapped up to mine. I had him. I tried not to grin.

"He's what?"

"Engaged."

For a second, I felt bad. He looked like he was going to cry, or maybe to be sick. He grabbed the beer from my hand and chugged it quickly, slamming the glass on the table and pushing past me to head for the door.

His escape was interrupted though, when Lipton announced, "Sorry to break the mood here, boys, but we're moving out again."

He stopped at the announcement, looking back over at me and drawing a deep breath. I said nothing, instead nodding my head toward where Katie-Lynn was standing. He seemed to be wrestling with himself for a moment, but finally cursed and changed course, heading toward her across the crowded bar. I followed behind him as, instead, he approached Malarkey.

"Congratulations. I'm sure you and Katie-Lynn will be happy."

Don feigned confusion, furrowing his brow and answering, "Huh?"

"You guys getting married. Good for you."

"I'm not engaged to Katie-Lynn, Joe. I'm marrying Anne. Kaylee is going to be our son's godmother."

"Oh. I thought Bill said…"

I took that moment to slide my arm around Kaylee's unsuspecting waist and kiss her cheek. Joe narrowed his eyes at me and Don spoke up again.

"No, Kaylee is here with Bill."


	21. Chapter 21

**** BILL POV ****

Katie-Lynn looked a little confused, but Joe didn't notice. He was incredulous, looking back and forth between me and Don.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked before noticing my arm around her waist. His eyes snapped up to meet mine and I smirked.

"That's right. Kaylee's with me. Is that a problem?"

"Hell yeah, it is a fucking problem! Why the fuck is she here with you?" he demanded. Then, to Katie-Lynn, "Why the hell are you here with Bill?"

She may have had no idea what was going on, but Joe wasn't doing himself any favors here. At his tone, her jaw set in that stubborn way that said she was prepared to fight back.

"I don't really see why that matters to you, Liebgott."

Ooh. The last name. That can't be good. He was sputtering now, arms thrown in the air as he tried to find the words to explain himself.

"Why it… why should it… Of course it matters to me!"

"Okay then," she said, speaking in a measured voice. "I'm here with Bill because I want to be, and because he asked me."

"Well, that's bullshit!"

"And why is that?"

"Because! Because Bill can't just waltz in and ask you out, that's why! You can't just waltz in and ask her out! Why the hell would you do that?"

"I didn't 'waltz in,' Joe. I've known her as long as you have. And she's a single, beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman. There isn't a man in this room who wouldn't like to ask her out. It just so happens that I saw an opportunity and I took it. And, for the record, you remember when you jumped Malarkey's ass on the boat for acting like he could dictate who she was with when he wasn't taking care of his own business? You're being awfully hypocritical right now. You had your shot. You blew it."

He was stunned into silence, his face a mixture of hurt and anger. From the corner of my eye, I could see Katie-Lynn biting her lip. She knew I was right, but her instinct was to comfort the man she loved. I shook my head at her slightly. She needed to let him think this through for a minute. He needed to stop making demands and actually have a conversation with her.

Instead, he dove for me, swinging like a prize fighter as he toppled chairs trying to connect with my jaw. Toye caught him and wrapped his arms up behind his back, trying to prevent an all-out brawl in the middle of the bar, and he roared at the top of his lungs. It sounded like an animal in pain.

"You son of a bitch! How could you do that to me? You fucking know! You know how I feel about her!" he screamed, and I was a little shocked to see that his eyes were wet. He pulled out of Toye's grasp and backed away, moving toward the door as he choked out, more quietly this time, "I could have understood if it was Don. He was in her life before I was. But you? You, of all fucking people. All the times I've confided in you. You know how much I love her, and you betrayed me."

Before I could respond, he rushed me again, looking hell-bent on killing me. I moved to defend myself, but Katie-Lynn stepped between us.

"That's enough!" she snapped, but Joe's momentum was too great. He couldn't stop, barreling into her and carrying both of them to the ground. The whole room heard the crack of her head against the floor, and then she was silent.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. What did I do?"

Joe scrambled off of her, kneeling over her and stroking her cheek. She appeared to be knocked out, and Doc knelt down beside her, running a hand across the back of her head where it had hit the floor. At his touch, she groaned, and a room full of nervous men breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"That hurts, Gene."

"You've got a hell of a bump back here, Katie-Lynn. I'd like to take a better look at it. Make sure you're not bleeding and see how bad you got rattled. Here, let me help you up, okay? Have a seat right here."

Doc sat her in a chair underneath the light and began to work his fingers through her hair as Joe paced nervously nearby, chewing on his lip. I watched him from the other side of the table, and her every grimace and noise of pain ran straight through him. He was in agony.

"Well, you got quite a bump, but you're not bleeding and your eyes seem to be reacting okay. You're not seeing double or anything?"

"No. No, just got a bad headache, Gene."

"Yeah, that may stick around for a while. I may be able to find you something to take, if you want."

"Thanks. I think I'll be okay. I'll just go back and go to sleep. Maybe it'll be gone by morning."

She stood carefully, giving Gene and several of the other worried guys a quick hug. She pecked Don's cheek as he squeezed her and then repeated the same routine with me, nodding as we told her to come get us if she needed anything. As she walked toward the door, Joe reached out to touch her arm and she paused.

"Kaylee, I'm so sorry. I would never hurt you on purpose. I just couldn't stop."

"I know, Joe. It's not your fault that I stepped in the way. But you shouldn't have been going after Bill either."

He looked scolded, but still a bit defiant.

"He knows why I went after him. He betrayed me!"

"Oh, grow the fuck up, Joe! Really! Nobody betrayed you! I came over here with Don and Bill tonight, but Bill and I aren't dating. He's just pushing your buttons trying to get some kind of reaction out of you. Knowing Bill, he probably thought he was doing you a favor by forcing you to finally do something about whatever this bullshit is between us. And obviously it worked because this is the first time in two months that you've spoken to me or listened to anything I had to say. But now, my head is killing me, and all I want to do is go lay down."

Katie-Lynn continued toward the door and Joe looked back at me, mouth agape as he processed her reasoning. I offered a small, solemn nod, and flicked my eyes toward her retreating form.

"Shit. Kaylee, wait a minute."

"No, Joe. I've been waiting for two months. I'm done waiting for you," she answered, not looking back. He looked as though he'd been slapped, but she continued, "If you have something to say to me, you're going to have to walk with me back to barracks."


	22. Chapter 22

**** JOE POV ****

The silence was so thick between us that I could have cut it with my trench knife. There were a million things I wanted to say, but I wasn't quite sure where to start. Every so often, she would reach up and touch her aching head and it made me feel even worse.

"Katie-Lynn, are you sure your head is going to be okay? You really hit the floor hard."

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Sleep will probably help. And I can see you watching me. Stop beating yourself up, Joe. You didn't mean to, and I'm the one who stepped between the two of you. Who does that? I know you two well enough to know better."

I chuckled and she shot me a small smile, and the tension around us began to ease as we reached the barracks. She made her way to her bed in the corner, moving gingerly as she pulled off her jacket and crawled under the blanket. I carried my small pillow over to her.

"Here. Take my pillow too. You're going to be sore tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Probably. And you don't have to give me your pillow."

"I know. But I want you to be comfortable so you can get some sleep."

I knelt beside her bunk, tucking the pillow behind her, and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. She moved involuntarily into my touch and I let my fingers linger on her cheek.

"I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do, but I want you to feel better. Try to get some sleep. Can I do anything for you?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she moved away from me, scooting backward so that her back was against the wall. I wasn't sure what she was doing until she pulled back the blanket and patted the pillow beside her head. I couldn't deny her, not that I wanted to. Carefully, I lay down next to her, resting my head on the pillow, so close that we could feel each other breathing.

"Talk to me, Joe."

"I don't know where to start."

"Anywhere."

"I am so sorry," I blurted in a rush. "Sorry for the stupid things I said in the field. Sorry for assuming that you had run back to Don five minutes later. Sorry that I blurted out something when I knew it wasn't true. I'm sorry for being so wrapped up in my own pride that I dragged this out for two months when I knew I should apologize within five minutes. Bill was right all along. He kept pushing me toward you but I wouldn't listen. And I'm sorry about tonight. All of it. I had no right to interfere if you wanted to be with Bill. I just…"

"Hated it?" she laughed.

"Yeah."

"I've missed you, Joe."

"I know sweetheart. I missed you too. We can start over right now if you want. But if you'll just give me a chance to make it up to you, I swear I will."

"Damn right you will."

We both laughed, and she put a hand to her pounding head, so I started to get up.

"I'll let you get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow if you want."

Her soft touch on my arm stopped me, and I looked back. She looked so tiny.

"Will you just stay here? I don't feel good, and I'd feel better if you were beside me."

I lay back down beside her and ran my fingers through her hair, feeling the knot left by the pub floor. She snuggled into my chest and I kissed the top of her head, holding her until we both fell asleep.

A bit later, I awoke to the noise of others coming into the barracks and motioned for them to be quiet so as not to disturb her. She was still sleeping soundly against my chest, breathing softly with one arm draped across my stomach. Bill and Don, whose bunks were next to and across from hers, stood smiling over me.

"How is she?" Don asked.

"Her head was still hurting her pretty bad, and she said she really didn't feel good. Getting a little nauseated I guess. But she's been asleep for a little bit now, so I think she's going to be okay."

"And the two of you? I take it that's going to be okay too?" Bill whispered.

"I hope so. We talked a little. I apologized. Said that we could start over again. She asked me to stay beside her before she fell asleep, so that's a good sign, right?"

Don nodded, "Yeah, Joe. It's a good sign. One step at a time."

"As many steps as it takes."

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

I still had the remains of a headache when I woke up the next morning, but I did feel a bit better. We were to have a briefing on the upcoming jump a bit later, so Joe asked if I wanted to go for a walk and continue our long overdue conversation. We found ourselves back at the field.

"You know," I confessed, "I do think you had a point that day about us not jumping into things for the wrong reasons."

"Yeah, I still believe that too. I don't want to push anything, especially now. So what do you want to do? I want to make things right. I'll go along with whatever you want."

"I think we should start over. Rewind things back to the way they were when we were on the boat over here. Do you think we can rebuild from there?"

Joe smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"I don't have to worry about you being pregnant with anybody else's kid this time, do I?"


	23. Chapter 23

**September 17, 1944**

The jump into Holland was a quiet one, and with the weight of missing Joe off my shoulders I felt like maybe the briefings had been right. Maybe we were going to push over the Rhine, get home by Christmas, and finally be able to start our lives. That was when the bridge exploded.

For a second, I couldn't hear anything and I thought I might be deaf. Sound began to creep back in and I realized that I was staring up at the sky.

"Katie-Lynn!"

Joe was screaming my name, scrambling over to check me for injuries.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. Just knocked me down, that's all."

"Dammit, woman. I'm going to wrap you in padding. Or box you up and send you home at the first available opportunity. Makes me nervous having you out here."

"Are you gonna bitch at me or help me up? I swear, you complain more than a woman. Talking about how much you worry about me, but you leave me laying here in the mud."

"Well, what can I say? You look good lying underneath me," he smirked, my favorite little half-smile crossing his face.

Bull walked over and lifted me off the ground with one arm, dusting my uniform off.

"Thank you, Bull."

"Anything for you, sweetheart," he drawled.

"At least somebody is a gentleman," I teased over my shoulder, sticking my tongue out at Joe as Bull walked away.

He stepped up behind me, whispering against the shell of my ear, "Use it or lose it, Katie-Lynn."

I shivered and he shot me a knowing grin and a wink as he walked over to inspect the decimated bridge, and just like that, we were back to being "us" again.

As we fell asleep that night, he suggested sneaking into the woods for a quickie. I suggested that he and his hand should go have a good time. We split a Hershey bar and he wondered aloud about alternative methods of eating it.

"What are you babbling about, Liebgott?"

"Oh, I was just thinking… I could break this into pieces. Lay one right here," he said, touching my collarbone and trailing his finger down as he continued. "Be like Hansel and Gretel and leave a little trail of chocolate to follow all the way…"

"Hey, hey, hey," I answered, swatting his hand away. There was that damn smirk again. "Knock that off and behave yourself."

From somewhere in the darkness nearby, another voice spoke up.

"For the love of God, Joe, please finish that story."

"Shut up, Talbert! And stop encouraging him!"

* * *

The streets of Eindhoven were absolutely teeming with people. It seemed that even the buildings were celebrating liberation from the Germans. As is to be expected, the men were thoroughly enjoying the attentions of the young ladies, although I could tell that Joe was trying to put on a show of annoyance for me. I raised my eyebrows at him after a pretty young Dutch girl planted a kiss on his lips.

"What? It's not like I can help it!" he defended, but he looked a little too pleased with himself so I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, motioning that he had a new suitor behind him.

He turned around and was immediately crushed to the ample bosom of woman who was every bit of 60 and probably three times his size. She lifted him fully off the ground and left his face stained with red lipstick. When she finally released him, he turned back to me, dazed and disgusted. I couldn't contain my laughter.

"You could have warned me. You just set me up and sent me in to that."

"What? It's not like I can help it!" I teased, using his own words against him. "Everybody wants a taste of Joey. I just wish I had a camera."

"Stop laughing. She put her tongue in my mouth. I may throw up."

We reached the others, and Bull looked over at Joe. I didn't realize he had seen the exchange until he winked at me.

"You okay, Joe? You look a little green."

"No. No, Bull. I'm not."

"Do I need to go get your new lady friend? I'm sure she'd be glad to throw you over her shoulder and take you home. Get you all fixed up? Kiss you all better?"

We snickered as Joe clutched his stomach and shot both of us a glare.

"Shut the fuck up. Both of you."

"Alright, alright. Come on. Hoob found us a place to sleep tonight."

A little while later, we were relaxing inside the bomb shelter of a kind Dutch family. They shared preserved fruits with us, and we settled in out of the chill and wind. As the others played cards, I found a darkened corner to nestle down into and get some sleep. A moment later, I felt another body beside me and opened my eyes to see Joe trying to get comfortable.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay. I wasn't asleep yet. Can't get comfortable?"

"No," he answered, finally leaning back into the corner, legs out in front of him. "Come here."

He reached for me, pulling me back between his legs so that I could lean against his chest, and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Better?" I deadpanned, although I had to admit I was more comfortable.

"Yup. Now, if I could just find a way to get the taste of that woman out of my mouth," he answered cheerfully, giving me a squeeze.

"Drink some water."

"Not what I had in mind, but thanks."

"Any time. Now, shush so that I can go to sleep."


	24. Chapter 24

**** JOE POV ****

The world was exploding around me. Lieutenant Brewer had been shot through the neck, and then the whole damn world started shooting at us. A small group of us managed to find cover for a moment and I found myself cursing whoever had come up with this plan. Old men and kids? Home by Christmas? Right.

We took off running again and the wall where we had just been exploded behind us. We were pulling back. Everything was happening in flashes. I saw the tank explode and someone flew through the air, but I couldn't tell who it was. I climbed on a truck and I heard Lipton say that we didn't know where Bull was. I didn't know where Katie-Lynn was either, but since Lipton didn't mention her to Winters, I assumed she was accounted for and on another transport.

We pulled away, desperately seeking safety from the barrage. Once we were in the clear, we unloaded and began taking stock of our casualties. We had lost several, but it looked as though Brewer was going to make it. Bull was missing, and we had some wounded. Bill walked up beside me, and he looked like he wanted to say something but was having trouble getting it out.

"Bill, anybody heard word on Randleman yet?"

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, finally letting out a sigh and looking at me. His eyes held the same lost, pained expression that they had when he found out his brother had been killed. My heart began to pound.

"Joe, nobody has seen Katie since we pulled back."

Terror. The only word I can use to describe how I felt at that moment is terror. I must have looked like a maniac, gripping my hair as though I were going to pull it out by the roots and squatting down to the ground as I mumbled to myself.

"Gotta go find her. I'm gonna fucking kill every fucking German I see, and I'm gonna find her. She's okay. She has to be okay. Dammit, why the fuck didn't I keep her with me? God, please let her be okay."

Bill was kneeling next to me, and then Don was there. Some of the replacements were nearby with Hoobler, and we began discussing how to go looking for our two missing troopers. Pictures of Katie-Lynn, broken and bloodied, flashed through my mind. Scenes of what some bastard German soldier might do when he found out that she was a woman played like filmstrips in front of my eyes. My stomach lurched, and I rolled to my hands and knees and gagged.

My stomach was empty, but the violent twisting of my stomach wouldn't stop because I couldn't stop the pictures. Tears from both were streaming down my cheeks, and Don patted my back and handed me my canteen. Through the blood rushing in my ears, I heard Hoobler and the replacements leave to go searching. I was relieved that someone was going, but felt guilty that I was not among them. I hoped that she would understand. That she was alive to understand. The thought turned my stomach again. Bill and Don stayed beside me that night, worried that I would take off on my own if I could stop throwing up. None of us slept.

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

What in the hell happened? I woke up in a cave, and there was a bear next to me. I jumped, and the bear clapped a hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming.

No. Not a bear. A bull. Bull! We were alive! The last thing I remembered was seeing him fly through the air in front of me. There had been a loud explosion behind us, and we had been thrown. I got woozy when I hit the ground, and I must have passed out at some point. Bull had brought me into this… not a cave, but some kind of drainage pipe. I could hear German voices outside, and nodded to Bull that I was okay. Easy had retreated without us.

Darkness fell around us and we managed to sneak into a barn to take shelter for the night. Bull was clearly in pain, and I crawled behind him to take a look at his bloody shoulder.

"Can you get it out?" he asked, referring to the piece of tank shrapnel lodged in his muscle.

"It's too deep for me to pull out with my fingers, Bull. I don't know. I might do more harm than good."

He unsheathed his trench knife and held it out behind him, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you any worse."

"I trust you, Katie-Lynn."

I was unsure, but it needed to come out. There was no way around it. I took a deep breath and steadied myself against his back. He sucked in sharply as I dug the knife into his wound, but despite a few painful minutes, I managed to pull the piece of metal free. His relief was immediate, and his massive frame relaxed against the wall. He gave me a small smile and held out an arm so that I could crawl in and curl up against his chest.

"We're gonna make it, aren't we?"

"We're gonna make it."

Light dawned the next morning, and the Germans were gone. We had almost been discovered in the night, and the fallen German soldier we'd had to fight remained buried under the hay in the barn as we stepped out into the morning sun. Bull knelt before the body of Private Miller, a member of his squad, and I placed my hand on his shoulder. How many had we lost on this suicide mission?

I heard a jeep approaching. Bull had the better view, so I waited to see if we needed to take cover. He raised his rifle. They were ours. I could have kissed the driver as we climbed in.

A few minutes later, we rolled up on a small squad of Easy Company men led by Hoob. The surprise was evident on his sweet, round face and the group jogged over to the jeep.

"Where the fuck you been?" he demanded with a relieved smile.

I looked over the faces. Hoob. Cobb. Webster. Hashey. Garcia. No Joe, no Don, and no Bill. Did that mean…? I started to panic, but Cobb spoke up.

"Joe's a wreck, Katie-Lynn. Sick as a dog since he found out you were missing. He was on the ground throwing up when we left. Don and Bill stayed with him to keep him from running off after you by himself. They're alive, but they'll be a lot better once they see you two."

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

Between the three of us, we had smoked three packs of cigarettes. I could tell from the activity around us that we were preparing to move out. Without Bull. Without Katie-Lynn. We just stood there in silence, kicking at the ground with our boots. I willed myself not to break down in front of everyone, but I knew that if I had to get on a truck again without knowing where she was, I wouldn't be able to hold it in. I heard John Martin's voice at the sound of an approaching jeep.

"Bull!"

My head snapped up. Bill and Don were staring at something behind me with a mixture of surprise and joy. I spun to see what they were looking at and saw Hoobler lifting a small form from the seat of the jeep. They exchanged a hug, and then the form turned to face me. Katie-Lynn was alive.

I met her halfway across the field, lifting her off the ground with my hug. She buried her face in my neck and wrapped her legs around my waist. I could feel her hot tears against my skin. We were both talking at once, running our fingers over each other's face and hair, reassuring ourselves that the other was real.

"You're here. I thought you left without us, but you're here. When you weren't with Hoob, I thought you got hit."

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere? I'm sorry I wasn't with you. I'm so sorry. I should've protected you. I thought I lost you, baby."


	25. Chapter 25

Joe had hardly left my side since I returned from my unplanned absence. I was so happy to see him that I hadn't really noticed at first, but now that he was gone on a patrol at the crossroads, I could feel it. If he were here, he'd be talking with Tab and George, smoking a cigarette or playing cards, but he'd have one arm casually draped around my shoulder just to make sure that I was close to him. I missed the weight of that arm against me, but just as I began to feel sorry for myself, the doors to the barn we were sheltering in busted open.

"We've got penetration!"

Joe and several others were half-walking and half-dragging a very bloody Moe Alley and Roe quickly jumped into action so I moved to help, elevating his legs. Lipton began shouting for a squad to get their weapons, and I saw Joe grab his rifle again just as I saw the blood gushing from his neck where he was pressing a bandage.

"Joe! Your neck!"

He met my eyes across Alley's wounded form, and gave me the look that said I'd never convince him to stay. Before I could argue, he was out the door again. All I could do was return my attention to helping Moe and hope that Joe wasn't out there bleeding to death. It was a long, sleepless night.

The following morning, we got Alley evacuated. He'd been peppered by a grenade and had holes all over him, but it looked like he was going to live, and his quick reaction had kept him from being blinded. From where we were, Roe and I could hear the gunfire. It sounded like the entire German army had converged on our boys at the crossroads. Then, as quickly as it started, the crackling stopped and I was passing out coffee a few feet away from a field where dozens of Nazi SS lay. War was a roller-coaster.

I saw Winters talking to Joe, dropping the ammunition from his gun as he ordered him to escort our prisoners back. Winters was a brilliant man, and an even better leader. Joe didn't like it, but I could see the grudging respect on his face. I could also see that his neck, although clearly wounded, no longer seemed to be gushing blood. Now I just needed to get him to sit down long enough to let me or Doc clean it before infection set in.

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

Her fingers gently brushing against my neck was sending heat to places that I really couldn't afford to have warmed up in a room full of people. I closed my eyes tightly against her touch.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No. I'm okay."

I wasn't sure if she believed me, but she continued working, leaning in so close that I could feel her breath against my skin. I willed my mind elsewhere, but where it travelled didn't help much.

_My old convertible was parked on the cliff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the sunset. I was relaxed in the back seat, with one arm draped around her shoulders as she leaned against me. I brushed a strand of hair from her face so that she looked up. The gaze was intense for a moment and then she began to move, turning her body and sliding over to straddle my lap. I was surprised, watching her as she leaned in to meet my lips. _

_"__We've waited long enough, don't you think? We both know we're never gonna be just friends."_

_"__You sure? We just got home," I protested, even as my hands slid up her thighs. "I thought you just wanted to let things happen."_

_"__I have been letting things happen, Joe. It's been three years." She leaned away from me now, her eyes showing uncertainty. "If you don't want this, just tell me now."_

_I didn't answer, at least not with words. I was aching at the feel of her hips against me. My hands, which had already crept underneath her dress, slid behind her, pulling her body tight to mine and kissing her deeply._

_"__Oh, I definitely want this, baby."_

"You're lucky this wasn't any deeper."

"Huh? What?" I snapped out of my daze and she looked at me with concern.

"I said that you were lucky this didn't go any deeper. Could've hit a major vein. You okay?"

"Yeah! Of course. Thanks for cleaning it for me."

"Joe, do you remember that New Year's Eve back in training, when I had a dream about you? How I couldn't hide what I was thinking about from you?"

I looked at her strangely, unsure where this question was going, but I answered.

"I remember."

She shot a quick look down toward my lap. My eyes followed hers, and then snapped back up to her face, which quirked into a smile as she raised an eyebrow at me. I could feel the uncharacteristic blush on my cheeks.

"Well, you can't hide it either."

Shit.


	26. Chapter 26

**November 1944**

Our time in Holland led to our resident "College Boy," David Webster, being shot and Winters being promoted to run the entire battalion. His replacement, "Moose" Heyliger, led a successful operation to rescue British soldiers before being shot by a panicked young sentry. We were transported back to Mourmelon, France for rest, recuperation, and retooling shortly after that, and we met Lieutenant Norman Dike, our new CO. He certainly had some friends in high places, but none of the enlisted men seemed all that impressed. He came across as a brass polisher instead of a true combat leader, but that remained to be seen. In the meantime, we were just eager for the chance to relax a bit.

It felt a little bit like we were back in training, doing PT and drilling for our new leader and trying to have a little bit of fun whenever we could. The replacements who had been so new and fresh-faced only a few months before were now as worn and ragged at the edges as the rest of us, and watching the newly-minted replacements with the same degree of disinterest and skepticism as we had watched them when they first arrived. Some would make it out, wearing their own tired, bedraggled looks one day, but many wouldn't. That was the fact. We all knew it, even if they didn't yet.

"New replacement boys," I muttered to Joe as we passed a group of them on our way to watch a movie.

He grunted and flicked his cigarette to the ground.

"Babies. That one looks like he couldn't grow facial hair if you gave him a year. Bet he's never seen a naked woman."

"Ah, the Liebgott scale of manliness. I don't remember the 'how many naked women have you seen' question on my Army paperwork," I laughed.

He shot me a look as we walked into the makeshift theater and led me over to a small, comfortable bench in the back corner.

"I'm sitting as far away from him as I can get," he whispered, motioning toward George Luz.

Luz, God love him, enjoyed quoting the movies and annoying the hell out of anyone who was sitting around him. He made me laugh, but he also made me want to throw things at him. I nodded in agreement with Joe's seating arrangement and took a seat on the bench beside him as they dimmed the lights and started rolling the latest John Wayne film on the projector.

Joe faked a stretch and a yawn, sliding his arm around behind me on the bench, but neither of us could keep a straight face. I leaned into his chest trying to stifle my giggle, but Talbert turned around.

"Will you two shut… oh, hey Kaylee. You look nice tonight. Wanna play some pool later?"

"Sure!"

He flashed me a smile and a wink, but turned back around quickly when he caught a glimpse of the glare on Joe's face. Joe pulled away from me, his arms across his chest and his jaw clenched.

"What is the matter with you?" I whispered.

"Playing pool with Tab? Again?"

"Yeah? So?"

"He gonna give you 'lessons' again?"

I sat back in the darkened room and studied him for a second. The grinding teeth. The defensive posture. The daggers he was shooting into the back of Tab's head. I thought back to the pub a few nights before. We'd been playing pool, and I was lining up a shot when Tab sauntered over and leaned around behind me to "help." He was talking in my ear and we were laughing, and when I finished my turn I looked up to see Joe sulking over a beer at the bar.

"Are you seriously jealous of Talbert? Joe, we were just playing pool."

"He was all over you."

"He's Talbert! He's always like that."

"You weren't exactly complaining."

"Look, I'm not doing this with you. I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm sick and tired of the jealousy shit." I spoke a little louder than I meant to, and my face reddened as several pairs of eyes turned to look at us. I stood up and moved past him, whispering, "This is ridiculous, Joe. Tab is my friend. You're my friend."

I walked back into the darkened barracks and tried to take a deep breath to calm myself. The door slamming shut startled me, but before I could react someone had me by the wrist. I was spun against the door, and a low, gravelly voice was in my ear.

"Don't give me that 'friend' bullshit, Kaylee. Does this feel like friends to you?"

I had just enough time to make out Joe's eyes in the moonlight through the window before his lips were on mine.


	27. Chapter 27

**** JOE POV ****

She melted into the kiss that we'd both been craving since we made up, tangling her free hand in my hair and trying to pull me closer. I released her wrist, leaving one hand on her hip and sliding the other to the small of her back to bring her body flush against mine. She was on her tiptoes, reaching to keep up with the ferocity of the kiss, so I walked us backward until my legs touched the edge of her bunk and sat down with her straddling my lap.

I let my hands slide underneath her shirt, raising goosebumps on her skin. She gasped my name against my lips and I smiled into the kiss, allowing my fingers to run across her breast so that her gasp turned into a moan.

"What is it, baby? Does that feel good?"

"Yes." Her voice came out as a whisper.

"Who's making you feel like this?" I demanded between kisses. "It's not Tab, is it? He can't touch you like I can. Can he?"

She shook her head, but it wasn't enough for me. My mind was racing with thoughts of the way Talbert had been smiling at her during the movie. I was jealous because, even though we had made up, we had yet to recapture that same easy affection that had been there before the fight. When I saw them laughing together at the pool table, with his arms wrapped around her, all I could think was that I should have been standing in his place. Deep down, I knew that she didn't want him like that, but I needed to hear her say it out loud.

"Say it, Katie-Lynn. Can Talbert make you feel like I do?"

"No! No, Tab doesn't make me feel like you do."

We had agreed to start over and move forward slowly, but the idea of him touching her like this drove me crazy. We might have been operating as friends while we rebuilt our relationship, but I wanted to make damn sure she remembered what was really there between us. She needed to know that, with us, it would always come back to this. Heated moments. Passionate kisses. Raw desire. We wanted each other. We loved each other. We would never be "just friends."

My teeth grazed her collarbone and I heard her breath hitch as she shifted her hips against mine. My mouth followed a path up her neck, and brushed the shell of her ear.

"You want me, baby?"

Still trying to hold on to some shred of her composure, she answered smartly, "What do you think?"

I grinned again, pulling her into a deep, slow kiss as I stood back up with her in my arms. Then I pulled away, leaving her breathless, and put her back on her feet in front of me, meeting her confused eyes.

"We are never going to be 'just friends,' Kaylee. We crossed that bridge a long time ago. We can take things as slowly as you want, but you are my girl and this is forever, and it's only a matter of time before you realize it too."

Satisfied with her shocked expression, I left her speechless and walked out of the barracks.

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

When Joe walked out, I sat down hard on my bunk and tried to restore my breathing to normal. His words rang in my ears. Forever. He said that what we had was forever, and that I would realize it too. It was then that I understood why he had been so jealous of Talbert lately. Since we had "started over," he was worried that Talbert win my heart from him the same way he had won it after things went wrong with Malarkey.

As I lay back across the bunk, my daydreams from that day at Upottery flashed through my mind. Joe and I married, with a beautiful son and another on the way. I had been imagining forever with him since before I knew he loved me back, and he didn't even know it.

I could hear voices outside, including Joe's, and I assumed he had been smoking a cigarette after our heated exchange and was talking to the guys returning from the movie. I wouldn't have time to write him a note, so I did the only thing I could and got back on my bunk just as the guys came back through the door.

Joe sat down on his bunk, the one nearest to mine, and I watched him as he moved to lie down, finally noticing the glint of metal on his pillow in the dim light. He picked it up, brushing his thumb across it, and turned toward the lamp so that he could see what it was. When he realized what he was holding, he looked up quickly, meeting my eyes. I met his surprised look with a smile and a wink, and he bit his bottom lip and shook his head as a slow smile crept onto his face.

Talbert, whose bed was across from ours, asked, "What'd you find there, Joe?"

He pulled the chain over his head and unhooked it, slipping my dog tag onto the strand.

"Just a piece of my future, Tab."

"Huh?"

"Katie-Lynn left something on my pillow," he explained, laughing at Tab's confused face and then reaching for my hand.

When I took it, he pressed his own tag into my palm and winked at me.

Tab made a noise of disgust and muttered jokingly, "Why don't you two just elope to Paris and get married already?"

Joe glanced up at him and then back at me, pressing my dog tag to his lips.

"Maybe we will… maybe we will. Oh, and Tab? I'm not going to be too keen on anybody feeling up my wife at the pool table, if you catch my drift." His tone was light now, and bore none of the jealousy it had earlier.

"Yeah, yeah. I gotcha. Jeez. Kaylee is off limits. Hands off of Mrs. Liebgott, everybody!" he announced to the amusement of the others, and I blushed, which only amused them further.

Late that night, with everyone else deep into their own snoring and dreams, I woke to the feeling of my bunk shifting. I turned over and found Joe sliding under the blanket beside me. I waited until he got comfortable, and snuggled into his chest as he kissed my forehead.

"Sorry about earlier. Didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Just meant to publicly stake your claim?" I teased, and he laughed quietly.

"Yeah, something like that."

I looked up, meeting his mouth with mine. He sighed into the kiss, caressing my tongue with his own as he held me close. We lay there in the dark silence for a long time, wrapped up together in that kiss. He let me breathe long enough to run his lips down my jawline as he pinned my body beneath his.

I whispered against his ear, "Were you serious earlier?"

"About what?" he asked, kissing down my neck.

"About what you said to Tab."

"About marrying you in Paris?"

Forever. Marriage. Wife. My body tingled at the words, and little butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

"Yeah. Were you serious? Or were you just messing with him? I mean, I know you didn't mean right now, but…"

He stopped his sweet assault against my tender skin and looked down into my eyes.

"If you want Paris, baby, all we need is a pass. I'd marry you tomorrow." Tears formed at the corner of my eyes, and I couldn't form words right away. Joe must've worried at my silence, because after a moment he said, "I mean, if you wanted that."

The uncertainty in his tone made me laugh, and I finally found my voice.

"Paris would be great, but you know we can't get married right now. We technically aren't even supposed to be fraternizing, remember?"

I could make out his smile in the darkness, and that sexy overconfidence returned.

"You're right. Not that I give a fuck. The U.S. Army doesn't tell me who to be in love with. We could still get a pass for Paris. The brass doesn't have to know what we do with it. And who is going to tell on us?"

"Are you proposing to me, Joe Liebgott?"

He leaned down and gave me a shiver-inducing kiss before rolling onto his back and pulling me against his chest.

"No, princess. I'm just stating facts. Believe me, when I do propose to you, you'll know."


	28. Chapter 28

**I AM SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I AM IN THE FINAL STAGES OF EDITING MY BOOK, AND IT HAS TAKEN UP A LOT OF MY TIME. I AM STILL WORKING ON THIS STORY, AND HAVE OUTLINES FOR THE REST OF IT. STICK WITH ME! I AM ALSO WORKING ON STORIES FOR WINTERS, LUZ, PERCO, AND RANDLEMAN. THE WINTERS AND LUZ STORIES STARTED OUT AS ONE-SHOTS, BUT THEY JUST WON'T LET GO OF ME THAT EASILY, SO THEY HAVE BECOME MULTI-CHAPTERS. I WILL POST SOON!  
**

* * *

**_December 1944_**

**** JOE POV ****

"You better not have blown all my money!" I whispered to Malarkey as we sat in the darkened projector room.

He'd borrowed some cash from Muck and I to gamble with, and I'd asked him to do me a favor if he won anything with what I gave him. I'd seen him hand Muck his cash back, and it sounded like he'd done well. When he turned to me and grinned, I knew he'd done what I asked.

"Don't worry, Joe. I got it." He slipped me an envelope and I peeked inside.

"Thanks man."

"No problem. Happy to do it."

He smiled and patted me on the shoulder as Katie-Lynn slipped in next to us. I quickly tucked the envelope into my shirt pocket and slid my arm around the back of her chair.

"Hey, what was that? Don't tell me Don actually paid you back!"

"Yep, I did. Had to, because we've all got passes and I'll be blowing the rest of this very soon. Christmas in Paris, right Joe?"

"That alright with you, princess?"

She leaned over to steal a kiss in the darkness, whispering, "Absolutely," against my lips.

Just as she leaned away, the lights flipped on and the projector was abruptly cut off. The uniforms and grim faces told us that this could not be good news. It wasn't. The Germans had broken through the line in Belgium, obliterating our infantry in a surprise attack. We were being sent to the Ardennes Forest, surrounded as always, to hold the area around Bastogne. We looked at each other in disbelief as we made our way out of the room and moved to gather what supplies we could.

We had no winter clothes. We had little food and less ammunition. We had a replacement CO. More of us were going to die. I touched the envelope in my pocket and looked over at Katie-Lynn. Paris would have to wait. I just hoped that it would be there when this was all over, because the alternative was more than I could stand to think about.

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

We barely had time to process the news before we were in the back of a truck, headed into the forest. The only comfort we had in being crammed so closely together was the shared body heat. I watched in amusement as the vets harassed a young replacement named Guth for any extra amenities he had brought along. Skip Muck recited the well-known rhyme naming the uses for socks which made everyone laugh, but when the youngster produced cigarettes, everything else was forgotten.

Beside me, Joe took a deep drag and leaned back against the tailgate. He had something on his mind, but I knew better than to push. He must have sensed my concern because when he finished his smoke, he slid his arm around my waist in the darkness and pulled me into him. We rested like that until the trucks ground to a halt and then tumbled out into the snow.

"Well, we ain't in Hell. It's too damn cold," Skip, always one for stating the obvious, quipped.

As the officers went over the limited intelligence and planned our next moves, the enlisted gathered around the makeshift fire pits and waited for orders. I heard Bill and Babe talking, and then Don yelled at Joe and I to get our attention. The sight I turned around to was a scary one.

Infantry men were trudging out of the woods. They looked exhausted and broken. Some of their eyes held pain and fear. Others held nothing. The ones that stopped the retreat long enough to speak urged us to get away as quickly as we could. They spoke of slaughters. Total annihilation by the Germans. Many men had died. The weather was only getting worse, and resupply missions would be nearly impossible for the foreseeable future. We would be completely surrounded and alone. We began to take whatever ammunition and supplies we could from the retreating troops.

I watched them go and looked around at my boys. We all looked determined and confident, but some of us, or maybe all of us, would never walk out of those woods. Dread filled my stomach as my eyes fell on Joe's face. He, Don, and Bill were loading up on extra magazines and grenades. A picture flashed in my mind of Joe lying frozen under a tree and I shuddered. It was hard to believe that we had been talking about our future with such certainty just a couple of weeks before. My fingers ran across his dog tag, still fastened around my neck, and I looked out at the dark trees that lay before us.

"Here, Katie-Lynn. We grabbed you some extra supplies too." Don's voice startled me back into awareness and I realized that he and Joe were stuffing magazines in my pockets.

"Thanks."

Joe noticed the edge in my voice, and when Don walked away he pulled me behind one of the trucks.

"You okay, princess?"

"Yeah. Just thinking too much. You know how I am. Those infantrymen. Their eyes, Joe. We're gonna lose a lot of people. What if something happens to you?"

"Sweetheart, don't say that. Don't even think that. We're going to get through this the same way we have gotten through everything else. Together."

"Promise me, Joe." I knew that such a promise would be empty, but I needed to hear the words.

"I promise. I'll be right beside you when this is over. You're stuck with me, baby."


	29. Chapter 29

**Christmas Eve 1944**

**** JOE POV ****

Fuck, it was cold. Cold, dark and foggy. When people talked about Hell freezing over, this must be what they were picturing. We were surrounded on all sides with the weather preventing any supply drops, and the fucking Germans were really enjoying lighting up our position like the Fourth of fucking July. I also noticed that my already top-notch cursing abilities seemed to increase the colder I got. I sighed and refastened my pants, lighting a cigarette as I returned from my bathroom break.

"I managed to sweet talk Nixon out of a coffee ration," Katie-Lynn told me, grinning proudly as I jumped back into the foxhole beside her. I raised my eyebrows, accepting the steaming cup from her hands.

"Oh? And how did you do that?"

"Gave him a peek at my breasts," she replied coolly, and I choked, almost spitting coffee across the snow.

"What?"

She laughed and patted me on the back to make sure I wasn't going to choke to death.

"Joe, seriously? I mentioned I was looking for some and he offered. He's got a ton of it. It's not like he drinks it most of the time anyway. I wouldn't flash an officer just to get you a cup of coffee."

"Good. Wait, you wouldn't do that for me?"

She buried her face in her palm and shook her head, muttering, "Joe, I swear. You're impossible. Why do I even bother with you?"

I chuckled and she peered at me from behind her fingers, trying to fight her smile. I loved that smile. I leaned back against the side of the foxhole and watched her, which I knew drove her crazy. It always made her self-conscious and she would blush and begin nervously fumbling or playing with her fingers, just as she was doing now. I reached out and caught her by the wrist and tugged her toward me. She sucked in a breath when she met my eyes, and then crawled into my lap, leaning into me as our body heat comingled. My mind raced with less than pure thoughts and, with her ear pressed to my chest, she could hear my pounding heart. She looked up at me, turning her body to face me and straddling my lap, resting her hands against my chest.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, baby. I'm fine."

She didn't look convinced. I traced my finger down the line of her jaw, noticing the way she shivered, not from cold, but from my touch. There was something flickering behind her eyes that shot heat through me, and I shifted at the growing tightness in my trousers. The unintentional movement against her own sensitivity elicited a small moan from her that surprised both of us. My hands slid to her ass and pressed her hips into mine again, both of us hissing at the sensation.

"God, Kaylee, why the fuck do we have to be here in…?"

She silenced me with a kiss, tangling her fingers in my hair and slipping her tongue against mine, demanding that I kiss her back. I allowed her dominance for a moment before sliding my hand into her hair, giving her a light tug to let her know that I was taking over. She hissed my name as I latched onto the sensitive skin just below her collar, shifting my hips against hers again as I ran my thumb over the purplish mark I had left behind on her neck.

I was lost in her kiss again, and the subtle movements of her hips against mine, when the sky lit up and the ground began to shake around us. I ripped my mouth from hers and tucked her body underneath mine. I heard a scream that sounded like Lieutenant Welsh, and then Winters was calling for Doc and the world finally stopped rattling. I looked down and met her wide eyes.

"You okay, babe?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Fucking Nazis. First we have to listen to them singing half the fucking night and then they can't even give us Christmas off from the fucking fireworks show? I was busy, dammit!" I couldn't help it. I laughed. She looked at me in surprise and raised an eyebrow, demanding, "And what the hell are you laughing at."

We sat back up and I pulled her back into my arms as she stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"I hate to inform you, baby, but you have been around me entirely too long. My dirty mouth is rubbing off on you."

"Well, it was until the damn Nazis interrupted us."

* * *

**January 3, 1944**

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

My week had not improved much, nor had my mood.

The Christmas Eve shelling was a direct result of Welsh's unwise decision to start a small fire in an area that he had deemed "a dell," assuming that the depression was low enough to keep the Germans from seeing it. He had been wrong. His leg wound was serious, but he would live.

Hoobler offered to take my watch that night with Rader so that I could spend a little time with Joe, whose mood had been worsening by the day. We relished those moments of closeness, even when nothing happened between us, and Hoobler thought his little Christmas gift would boost morale. It had, until the shelling interrupted everything, reminding us that we were still stuck in these God-forsaken woods. Then came the news that Bastogne had been bombed and the aid station destroyed.

The world brightened a bit after Patton broke through on the 26th, bringing in some supplies and allowing us to evacuate wounded, but we got bombed again on New Year's Eve, killing a man and wounding Joe Toye for the third time. Dike remained useless. The world remained frozen. Joe and I remained each other's main source of comfort.

Joe was on watch at the outpost, and I was dozing slightly in our foxhole when I heard the pop of a gunshot and sat straight up. In a nearby hole, I could hear Buck asking if it was a sniper, and Shifty saying that it hadn't been a rifle. My mind raced through the possibilities. Suicidal replacement. German hostage taker. Accident. Someone being stupid and firing off rounds.

"Aww, Jesus, it's Hoob! He's shot!" Hashey was screaming.

"Sniper?" Buck asked, his body on combat alert since he'd returned from being shot in Holland.

"No, no. He shot himself!"

Oh dear God. I was out of the hole and racing toward him as I heard Perconte begin screaming for a medic. Doc was beside us in an instant, seemingly appearing from nowhere as he always did, ripping at Hoob's trousers and trying to find where the blood was coming from.

"I'm sorry! It just went off! I wasn't playing with it or nothing! It hurts like a sonofabitch! I think I hit bone!"

Hashey explained that they'd been moving over some barbed wire and the gun had caught on it, firing a round into Hoob's thigh. I looked at the blood pooling around him, mentally imagining the bullet's path. His femoral artery. Doc couldn't do anything, although I could see him working frantically. When the realization sunk in, I pulled his head into my lap and tried my best to calm him as I fought off my own tears.

"Hoob, baby, I need you to breathe. Breathe and calm down. I'm right here with you."

"I'm scared, Kaylee. I didn't mean to…"

"I know. We all know, sweetheart. Hashey told us. It wasn't your fault. You're too good a shot to hit yourself in the leg on purpose."

That drew a small, weak smile, but his face was pale. So very pale. And he was shivering now from the blood loss. Buck tucked his jacket around him and I held him close, trying to will my body heat into him.

"I'm sorry my Christmas present didn't work out, Kaylee."

"It did, sweetheart. Sweetest thing you could have done for me."

"Don't let go of me, Kaylee. Please."

His voice was hardly above a whisper. I could feel his body relaxing against mine, and his once racing heartbeat slow and then stop against my hand. I looked down at his closed eyes. He could have been sleeping, but I knew better. Buck caught Doc's attention, and his eyes confirmed what I already knew. I squeezed my own eyes shut, finally allowing the tears to slip out.

"I won't, Hoob. I promise."

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

I heard about Hoob, and about Katie-Lynn, but I couldn't go to comfort her until I was off duty at the outpost. From somewhere beside me, I heard Toye's gruff voice tell one of the correspondent cameras that "we didn't need to be fucking rescued by Patton," and I smiled. He'd left the aid station, and when Winters tried to talk him into going back, he was insistent on staying with his company. Morale might be low, but we hadn't lost our pride.

"Hey, Toye, come here a minute."

"What's up, Joe?" He dropped down next to me and shook my hand.

"Good to have you back, man. Guess you heard about Hoob?" He nodded grimly, so I continued. "I can't get off guard duty until we move back to our old positions this afternoon, so I was wondering if you'd go check on Kaylee for me. She was holding him, and the guys are saying she took it rough. Besides, she will be happy to see you back."

"Sure, of course. I'm sure she'll be alright, Joe. She's tough as nails. But I'll go check on her."

I knew she'd be happy to see him so that might at least help her feel better, and I was relieved to see her tucked under his arm when I finally got off of guard duty as we prepared to move back to our position above Foy. She was clearly still upset, but seemed relaxed with him and I felt myself smiling at the sight. There was no jealousy with Toye. He was like her protective older brother, ready to put a hurt on anyone who made his baby sister cry, including me. He caught my eye and gave her a squeeze, pointing in my direction as I walked over to them, and the sight of her teary eyes cracked my heart. I opened my arms and she all but fell into them, wrapping her around my neck as though I might disappear if she let go.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

"I couldn't do anything to help him," she sobbed, and her tears felt like acid against my neck. I hated it when she cried.

"I know. I heard what happened. But you did help him. You were there to comfort him, and now he will be looking out for you, just like always."

She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at me.

"That's what Joe and Bill said."

"Yeah? Well, great minds think alike I guess."

"Things just need to get better, Joe. I'm tired of our boys getting wounded and killed. I don't want to lose anyone else."


	30. Chapter 30

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

I was in the open when the shelling started again, on my way back from taking a hot cup of coffee to Joe at the OP overlooking Foy.

We'd returned to our old position, staring warily at the maimed trees that told the story of what 1st Battalion had been enduring in our absence, and I had gotten a good laugh at Toye's indignant proclamation that one of those "fuckers took a dump in my foxhole." Bill wisely pointed out that they probably hadn't wanted to spend much time above ground. We shoveled out our foxholes and settled in, fully aware that the eerie silence was a good sign that the Germans were just waiting on us to reoccupy the position.

"Hey Lip," Joe called, addressing Easy Company's de facto leader. "I'll take this shift at the OP."

"Thanks, Joe. That'd be great. Babe can go with you, and I'll send someone out to relieve you guys in a few hours. We know they're waiting on us to get settled in, so we're expecting movement. Keep your eyes open and yell if you see anything coming."

Joe nodded and looked down at me. "This way, I'll be done earlier and I can stay with you tonight, okay? Stay close to somebody. Toye or Bill or Don, alright? I don't want to have to worry about you." I nodded and he kissed my forehead before jogging off to keep an eye on Foy.

For a few hours, everything was quiet. We reinforced old foxholes and dug new ones, busying ourselves in the eerie silence by preparing for the barrage we knew was inevitable. Finally satisfied that we were well dug in, I set about fixing coffee and carried it out to Joe &amp; Babe at the OP. Joe smiled as I crawled up to his position and handed him the steaming cup, catching one of my hands and kissing my knuckles.

"Thank you, baby. I'll be done in just a little bit. Now," he ordered in a mock-serious voice, "get your cute ass back to our foxhole." He winked at me, and I grinned and blew him a kiss before heading back.

I was almost to the foxhole when the first shell landed, rocking the ground around me and pitching me forward onto my hands and knees. I tried to keep crawling, but the flashes of light and the snow and dirt flying up into my eyes were extremely disorienting and I was no longer sure of exactly which direction I needed to go. Still, I knew that there were enough foxholes that I was bound to fall into one eventually, so I kept moving. I saw the impact of a shell somewhere in front of me and buried my head in the snow, but then I was being dragged and tumbling into a foxhole, and someone's body was on top of mine.

Finally, the roaring stopped, and above the ringing in my ears I could hear a voice asking if I was okay. I cracked my eyes open and met a concerned set of startlingly blue eyes as Buck Compton checked me over for injuries.

"Are you alright, Kaylee? You're not wounded anywhere, are you? Does anything hurt?"

"No. No, sir, I don't think I got hit anywhere. I'm okay. Thank you."

"Good. Lord knows that Joe would drive us all crazy if you wound up having to go to the aid station," he joked, allowing a small smile to cross his lips as he helped me sit up and brushed the snow and dirt from my face.

The teasing lasted only a moment though, because I looked up and caught movement in front of us just as the shelling began again. One shadow appeared to be dragging another through the trees. Buck followed my gaze as the shadows came into focus through the blinding bursts and flying debris. Bill was looking back over his shoulder at us, dragging Joe Toye. The trail of blood they left in their wake leapt off of the snow and choked the breath out of my lungs.

Beside me, Buck was standing straight up now, ignoring the explosions and raining splinters and yelling as though he could get the guys to safety on will alone. I could see Toye struggling to help push them toward the foxhole, and was momentarily relieved that he was still alive. Bill's face showed the effort it was taking to drag his wounded friend, and the determination that he wouldn't be giving up and leaving him behind. For the briefest second, his wide eyes met mine. Then time stopped.

Buck's voice fell silent in my ears. Bill's eyes burned into my mine. A shell smashed into the ground, obscuring my view of the slow motion horror show. It felt like someone sucked all of the oxygen out of the world, and even the forest was holding its breath. The concussion knocked me backward, forcing the air from my lungs, and suddenly I could hear again. Buck was out of the hole now, helmet in his hand, the unmistakable look of shellshock on his face as he stared at something on the ground in front of him. I was terrified to look, but I was more terrified not to. I righted myself and scrambled up beside him just as I heard him sputter out one chilling word.

"M-muh-muh-MEDIC!"

His helmet fell from his fingers and rolled free, tripping me so that I had to catch his arm to keep from falling. I got my feet back under me and raised my eyes, only to wind up on my knees at the sight before me. Someone was screaming again, and it wasn't until Buck's heavy hand came to rest on my shoulder that I realized it was me.

Bill and Joe lay in a crumpled heap, surrounded by bloody, blackened snow. Bill's leg was a mangled mess of exposed tissue, and half of Joe's was missing completely. Neither of them was moving.

"Oh, God no… please, Doc, please," I begged the medic who had come running up and immediately sprang into action. "Are they…?"

"Kaylee, I need you to come here and tourniquet Bill's leg while I take care of Toye. Here, take this morphine. They're waking up, so you're going to put it in Bill's opposite thigh. Keep him calm and talking. The jeep is on its way."

Thank God for Eugene Roe. The man was born to heal, and even though he sometimes seemed to be in a different world than the rest of us, he had an incredible sense for what people needed in moments of crisis. He glanced up at me, knowing what I was about to ask. Taking one look at my terror-stricken face, he ordered me to work, effectively eliminating that gnawing feeling of helplessness that had threatened to take up residency in my gut. My mind cleared and my focus returned. My friends needed me to keep it together.

"Bill? Bill, sweetheart? Can you hear me? That's it. Stay with me, okay?"

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Kaylee? What the fuck happened? I can't feel my leg."

"I know. I gave you morphine. Here, let me help you. Lean here against this tree, okay?"

His eyes went wide when he got his first look at his leg, but before I could say anything to calm him, he took a deep breath and leaned back against the tree, asking me, "Are you okay, Doll?"

I started to answer, but Don slid up beside us to help just as Joe finally spoke beside me.

"What the hell do I have to do to die?"

I managed a watery smile, and Bill brushed away a tear that had slipped down my cheek as I finished working on his leg, having heard him tell the approaching Lipton that "they got ole' Guarnere this time." I knew what he meant. He'd been shot and broken his leg, but he had gone AWOL from the hospital just before we marched into the Bois Jacques. This time though, the Germans had done their jobs. He wouldn't be coming back from this. They got him.

"Doll, look at me," he said quietly, tilting my chin up so that our eyes met. "Don't cry. We'll be okay. We're going home. You just need to take care of yourself, and when this war is over, we are all going to get together and have a big party. Please don't worry about us."

"Here. Take this man," Doc instructed the men who had arrived with the jeep, pointing at Bill, who looked at me and sighed.

"Time to go, Doll. Be careful. I love you." He pulled me to him for a quick kiss before allowing the men to lift him carefully onto the stretcher. Winking at me, he added, "Hey Joe, I told you I'd beat you back to the States."

Once Bill was loaded up, I turned my attention to Joe as he watched Doc finished bandaging what was left of his leg. Only a few hours earlier, he had been comforting me as I coped with Hoobler's death. Now, his blood joined Bill's and Hoob's on my uniform. He took his attention away from Doc and took my hand.

"You let me know if any of these guys fuck with you while I'm gone, got it? I'll meet them when they get off the boat and kick their asses," he said sternly. Then, more softly, he added, "You take care of yourself, Kaylee. You hear me? I know you're going to take care of everyone else, but you better take care of you too. Don? You make sure she's okay or I'm coming after you. I love you, baby sister, and I'll see you when you get home. Here. You take these, just in case Joe gets out of line."

He tucked his brass knuckles into the pocket of my coat, kissing my cheek before they carried him away. I noticed Luz motioning Lipton toward where Buck was sitting on a log, face buried in his hands. It didn't take a long look to see that part of him had been broken in those moments. He'd been stretched too thin for too long. He needed to get off the line for a while. Beside me, Don looked concerned as well. Buck was a dear friend. I put my hand on his arm and he looked up at me.

"He's going to be okay, Don. He just needs to get the hell out of here for a little bit."

Don studied my face for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. Seeing the question in my eyes, he shook his head and pulled me into his arms. "Sweetheart, you never cease to amaze me. All you've been through today and you're standing here, trying to reassure me?"

"Well… yeah. What else am I going to do?"

"Kaylee, this is me you're talking to. I know what Hoob meant to you. I know the place that Bill and Toye have in your heart. I know what you must have seen when they got hit. You don't have to put on a brave face with me. Let me be strong for you for a change."

I didn't need any more prompting. His words brought the events of the day rushing back over me, and the tears I had been fighting to hold back in front of Bill and Toye came flooding out. He lifted me into his arms, carrying me through the trees.

"Where are you taking me? You're not gonna tell Winters I need to come off the line, are you? Because I'm not going!"

"No, I'm just taking you back to my foxhole. We need to be dug in, in case they start up again, and that way I can make sure Joe knows where to find you when he gets off watch. Luz went to tell him and Babe what happened, and I'm sure he's going to be worried sick until he can check on you himself."

"I just want to go home, Don."

"I know, baby girl. Me too."


	31. Chapter 31

**** JOE POV ****

She was tucked into Don's arms when I got to her after my shift was over, her puffy eyes and the tear streaks on her dirty cheeks telling the story of her day better than she ever could. She didn't move when I approached, and Don looked up at me with sad eyes, shaking his head to let me know she'd been like this for a while. I slid into the foxhole and knelt in front of her, resting a hand against her knee.

"Hey baby, how ya holding up?" I asked softly, as though I was trying not to frighten a small animal.

Her face came up to meet mine, pupils focusing on me as she seemed to become aware of her surroundings again.

"They aren't coming back, Joe. Toye left me his brass knuckles, and they're not coming back."

"I know. But they're going home. They're going to make it."

I sat back against the side of the foxhole and Don shifted her gently into my arms, kissing the top of her head.

"Here, sweetheart. Joe's got you now. I've gotta go to the OP, but I'll be back to check on you when I get done."

She nodded slightly, answering, "Don't worry about me, Don. Be careful. Love you."

"I will. Love you too."

When he was gone, I pulled her into me, wrapping my body around hers to stop her shivering as best I could. She kissed my cheek and snuggled down into my chest.

"I'm really okay, Joe. I promise. I'm just so tired of losing people. I'm tired of that look in their eyes… the fear… the pain… And I'm tired of not being able to do anything about it."

"You did do something about it. Even Hoob. You couldn't save him, but you kept him calm. You were there with him. And Toye and Bill. You stayed calm and helped get them stable. They may have lost legs but they're alive, and I promise you that we will go see them when we get home. Okay?"

She didn't answer me right away, and just when I though she wasn't going to, she asked, "Are we gonna get home, Joe?"

"Yes," I answered forcefully, not willing to entertain the idea that we might not. That she might not. "Someday, this will all be a distant memory that you tell your grandchildren about."

"Our grandchildren," she responded automatically, and I smiled in spite of the situation, pressing a kiss into her hair.

"Our grandchildren."

* * *

**** KATIE LYNN POV ****

I wish I could have frozen that moment and kept it with me through the rest of the Bulge. Instead, less than a week later I was seated on the edge of a foxhole next to Don, my arm around his shoulder as he stared numbly at a rosary, which was all that remained of one of his best friends.

Skip Muck and Alex Penkala had been dug in together when the latest barrage began. George Luz, who had been caught out in the open, was crawling toward them in the chaos when, he said, a shell had made a direct hit on their foxhole. Once the smoke cleared, they were gone. Lipton had pulled George in, and they had narrowly escaped the same fate when a dud had hit their hole moments later. In less than a week, three of Don's best friends, Muck, Penkala, and Compton, were dead or off the line. We sat in silence until Lipton came by to see if he wanted to come off the line for a few days to be a runner for Winters.

"Tell him thanks, but I'm gonna stay here," was Don's answer, as I had known it would be.

He'd have felt he was doing some sort of injustice to his friends if he had used them as an excuse to come off the line. That's just the way he thought. He still sounded distant, but there was determination in his voice and that reassured me. Lip looked at me warily before pulling a Luger out of his coat and offering it to Don. I knew instantly who it had belonged to, and I could see him silently asking me if I was alright with it.

"He'd want you to have it, Don. He was proud of it, and he'd want it to be appreciated."

That earned a small smile from him, and he leaned into me, surprising me with a tight hug.

"You listen to me. We're going to be taking Foy before too long. I don't care what it takes, but you take care of yourself. I refuse to imagine what I'd do if something happened to you, and I don't even want to think about what it would do to Joe. You're his world."

"I'll be careful. Promise. But that goes for you too, okay?"

We stayed in that hug until I heard Joe's voice behind me.

"Hey man, how are you doing?"

Reluctantly, Don released me and pulled back. "I'm alright. Just hard to believe, you know? Faces we've been looking at for almost three years and now they're gone. I was just telling Kaylee that she'd better be taking care of herself when we get ready to take Foy or one of us would kick her ass."

Joe chucked and nodded in agreement before handing Don a cup of coffee, and I smiled at the comfortable turn that our relationship had taken. I had noticed them talking during the movie on the night we found out we were moving out again, but when I approached, they grew silent and gave each other a nod. Some silent understanding had passed between my first love and the man who now held my heart before we had marched into the woods in Belgium and, although I didn't know exactly what it was, I was grateful for it. At any rate, they were both determined to make sure I made it through the remainder of the war without a scratch, so if I so much as stubbed my toe, one of them was there to check me over.

Taking Foy wasn't without its complications, even if you ignored the fact that Dike had to be relieved of command, but under the confident leadership of Ronald Spiers, we finished the job. The men were cheerful, singing and smiling for the camera, and for the first time in days, Joe and Don were away from me, rounding up prisoners. I sat on a truck, laughing at the jubilance of the men. Then I heard the pop of a rifle, and felt myself falling.


	32. Chapter 32

**** JOE POV ****

God, I was sick of being in this place. Damned, fucking German sniper bastard. I could see that he'd hit a few before Shifty managed to blow his Nazi brains out, but I didn't know yet who was hit. I glanced over to the truck where I had last seen Katie-Lynn and she wasn't there. For a moment, I assumed she had taken cover somewhere, but then Don hit me on the arm and pointed.

I looked at the ground beneath the truck. There was a body lying there. From where I was standing, it looked like Webb. I started to turn and ask Don what he was pointing at, but caught a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. There was another set a boots. Another hand. A much smaller hand, struggling beneath the dead weight of the fallen man. Don and I both raced forward at the same time.

"Kaylee!" Webb was clearly gone, and we pulled him carefully off of her. "Are you hit anywhere? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I tried to catch him when he started to fall, but I just got pulled down with him." She allowed both of us to help her up and fuss over her for a minute before finally grabbing our wrists and reassuring, "Guys, I promise. I'm okay."

I let out the breath I'd been holding for the last few minutes as Don pulled her into a quick hug and kissed her cheek. He released his hold and she winked at me, raising a small smile to my lips. Reaching out for my hand, she allowed me to pull her into a tight embrace and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Didn't mean to scare you, Joe."

"Seeing you on the ground again," I trailed off and shuddered, squeezing her tighter against me. "I'm just so ready to get you out of here. I feel like I can't protect you the way I should."

"Well, surely after today they will pull us off the line."

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

Despite my optimism, there was to be no rest for the weary. Over the next few days, we took Noville and Rachamps, trying to catch up on our rest in a tiny, candlelit convent as the nuns sang around us. Again, we thought we might be given some relief, and again we were disappointed when, the following morning, we found out that Hitler had launched a counteroffensive in Alsace. We were dispatched to Hagueneau, France to hold the line. As we rumbled into town, I heard a familiar voice and looked up to see David Webster climbing into the back of our truck with a clean uniform and a big smile on his face, babbling something about the hospital. Beside me, Joe smirked and sat back against the bed of the truck.

"I'm sure you tried to bust out and help us in Bastogne, Web."

"I don't know how I would have done that."

"S'funny, 'cause Popeye found a way. And Alley… and Guarnere…"

"Yeah, where is Guarnere? He still your platoon sergeant?"

At Bill's name, I leaned forward and glared at Webster. "Do you see him anywhere? No, you don't. Because he got hit. Blew his leg off. Him and Toye both. And you asked about Hoobler a minute ago? Well, he's dead. Now, I realize that you have no concept of what we have been through for the last month, so I'm going to help you out before you get punched in the mouth by someone with a little less patience than I have. Here is a tip that they apparently didn't give you at the replacement depot. If you don't see someone, you can pretty safely assume that they got hit. Some are wounded. A lot are dead. Ask if you must, but wipe that star-spangled, recruiting poster smile off of your face when you do. You've been in combat. You oughta know better by now."

He swallowed hard at the cool bluntness of my tone and mumbled a half-hearted apology as the trucks rolled to a stop and Don and Joe helped me out. We might have understood if he had been a true replacement, but he wasn't. He'd been in combat in Normandy and Holland, although you'd never know it by the way he dove to the ground as a shell whistled overhead.

It wasn't that we disliked Webster, but when he hopped on that truck all fresh and polished, chatting everyone up like we'd been vacationing in the French Riviera while he'd been gone for the last four months, there was a part of every one of us that wanted to punch him in his mouth. Don shooed him quickly toward the building where Spiers and the other officers were setting up an HQ, and when he returned to the OP later, towing a lieutenant fresh out of West Point, he was bearing news that didn't do much to help his popularity.

There was to be a patrol of fifteen men sent across the river on a prisoner snatch. We were finally in a warm, sturdy building and now they wanted to send people out on a suicide mission. Nobody was happy to hear it, and it quickly became clear that Webster knew more than he was letting on. Joe, never one to wait patiently for orders, pressed hard for the names that had been mentioned in Webster's earshot. Thinking it might help him reintegrate into the group, Webster gave up the names without much needling.

"If I tell you, you can't let on that you know."

"You're secret's safe, Web," Joe pushed.

"There are four people in this room who they think should be on the patrol." His eyes fell on Babe, who shook his head in disbelief, as he continued, "Yeah. Heffron, McClung, Ramirez… and you, Katie-Lynn."

"Son of a bitch!" Joe hissed angrily.

Across the room, where Don was talking to the new Lieutenant, Jones, I heard him utter his own string of curses. Then he cleared his throat and turned toward our group.

"Listen up! There's gonna be a patrol. Spiers wants…"

"Yeah," Joe muttered, "We just fucking heard. Webster told us."

Beside me, Webster turned toward the bunk and slammed his gear down, angry at being given up so easily. If I hadn't been so frustrated with the situation, I might have felt bad for him. Before we could say anything else, Malarkey received word that ration supplies had arrived, including our winter shoe packs. Everyone but Webster and Lieutenant Jones, neither of whom had been in the woods with us for the last month and a half, got a good smirk at that bit of news. Then came a bit of sunlight.

"And we have showers," Don finished.

Before I could start singing my praises, we heard the distinct whistle of a shell and raced quickly down the stairs to get out of the upper level of the building. Webster and the lieutenant tucked themselves under tables, but the rattling and falling plaster was over as quickly as it began, and the veterans of the Bois Jacques barrages laughed for a moment at the absolute absurdity of our situation. There was no longer anything else to do. Our fear had been glazed over and hardened in the ice and snow of Belgium. We were too exhausted to be afraid anymore. We were more interested in showers. I'm sure the two newcomers thought we had all lost our minds.

Outside, we learned that Sergeant Bill Keane had been caught in the blast. One more death to add to the ever-growing list of Easy Company casualties. Most of us glanced down at him in brief recognition of our fallen man, but we had come to accept death. We'd seen so much of it in this war already, and the Battle of the Bulge had wrung the grief out of us over and over again. Only the Webster, Jones, and a couple of Keane's closest friends lingered. The rest of us continued on toward the promise of water, soap, and a fresh set of ODs.

Don and Joe flanked me as we moved toward the showers, and Don assured, "Joe and I can hold up a sheet or something so that you can get some privacy if you want, sweetheart. We don't mind waiting until you're done."

Joe nodded, "Yeah, that's no problem. Don and I aren't about to let any of these other guys see you naked."

"Oh good grief, really? Everything that's been going on, and you're worried about one of the boys getting a peek?" I teased.

He gave me that sly smile I loved, and winked, "I can't have anybody else seeing how good I've got it, now can I?"


	33. Chapter 33

**I HAVE THE BEST REVIEWERS EVER! THAT IS ALL... NOW, TO THE GOOD STUFF.**

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

Success is a relative thing. To Sink, the patrol was a success because two prisoners were captured, and those prisoners talked under interrogation. To the rest of us, the price was too high.

When Spiers took me off the patrol, my relief was tempered by the knowledge that Katie-Lynn was still crossing the river without me. When all Hell broke loose as we provided covering fire from the bank, I was worried that every shot I heard was hitting her. Then I heard about what had happened to Eugene Jackson.

According to Webster, who no longer looked like the fresh-faced, recruiting poster paratrooper he had when he'd first returned to Easy, the poor guy had been so eager to charge in and get the patrol over with that he had walked right into his own grenade blast.

"Doc did what he could for the kid. Katie-Lynn was helping, holding his head in her lap and trying to calm him. Doc thinks he could have saved him maybe, but he was just so panicked that he wound up choking on his blood. Kept screaming at Katie-Lynn not to let him die," he related quietly to Don and I after returning to the OP.

"Where is she now?" Don asked, just beating me to the punch.

"Doc took one look at her and sent her to get cleaned up in that little aid room he had set up. There's some running water and soap in there, and he wanted her to the blood off of her hands so she wouldn't be sitting there looking at it any longer."

Don looked up at me and flicked his eyes toward the door. I didn't need any more prompting. I was halfway to the aid room when I ran into Doc Roe, who was explaining to Captain Spiers what had happened to Jackson. They stopped as I approached, Spiers greeting me with his customary nod before Doc spoke.

"Hey Liebgott. I was just on my way to take a clean set of ODs to Katie-Lynn." He regarded me quietly for a moment before holding the uniform out to me. "I'm a little busy right now though. Would you mind taking them over there for me?"

"Yeah. Sure," I answered, accepting the clothing as Spiers silently watched our exchange. If he suspected anything unusual, he didn't say anything, and I tried not give myself away by rushing toward the building that Roe had indicated, making a mental note to thank him privately later.

I could hear the water when I walked in, and shut the door behind me before walking into the small bathroom. She glanced up at me in the mirror with exhausted eyes and relaxed into me as I slid my arms around her waist, my hands finding hers in the water-filled basin and helping her to wash away the blood.

"We couldn't save him, Joe. Another one we couldn't save," her voice was soft and resigned, as though she had finally accepted what Spiers had been preaching all along. Our only hope was to accept the fact that we were already dead.

"I know, baby girl. I heard. Doc sent me with some clean ODs, so I'll let you get changed."

"In a second," she answered, holding my arms around her waist. "Right now, I just want to stay like this for a little while."

"Okay baby," I agreed, pulling her tightly against me and pressing a kiss against her temple.

* * *

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

I sighed and leaned back, looking up to meet his eyes over my shoulder. He ran his thumb across my cheek and brushed a soft kiss against my lips, pulling away only slightly as I slid my hand behind his head to draw him back in.

The next kiss was deep and slow, and the grip of his other arm around my waist tightened and he slid his tongue against mine. I turned so that I could face him, and he took a step back at the sight of my blood-covered uniform. My heart lurched a bit as his eyes roamed over me, afraid for the briefest of moments that he no longer wanted to touch me.

His eyes met mine again, and he must have read my thoughts because he took a step forward and began unbuttoning my uniform, saying confidently, "We need to get you out of these, baby."

I could do little but watch him as he determinedly stripped away one piece of bloody clothing after another, only pausing when he realized that I was now standing before him in only my undergarments. Again, he stepped away and stared until I was sure that I was blushing from head to toe.

Finally, now completely self-conscious, I muttered, "Could you hand me the clean stuff please? I know I'm not exactly pin-up material here but there's no need to…"

"You're better," he answered quietly, eyes still roaming my bare skin as he made no move to hand me the new uniform.

"What?" Certainly I hadn't heard him correctly, and I stared at the ground, nervously playing with my fingers. "Joe, I'm well aware that I'm not exactly Marlene Dietrich. Especially right now. Scars and cuts and bruises and dirt and blood. I'm a mess. You don't have to patronize…"

He cut me off, stepping close to me, invading my space. His left hand slid to the small of my back, pushing me closer. His right hand went behind my neck, leaving me no choice but to look up into his eyes.

"You're absolutely right. You're no Marlene Dietrich, and you're certainly no magazine pin-up girl. But you are beautiful. Every single inch of you. Every mark on your body just adds to it. You know why?" I couldn't speak, but I managed to shake my head. He gave me a gentle smile as he continued, "Because, baby, I know how every one of those scars got there. Those cuts and bruises are hard-won badges of honor that no actress or pretty little pin-up girl could begin to understand. They show how selfless you are, and how strong. In my eyes, there is not a Hollywood starlet on this Earth that comes close, and every single mark on your body is just one more symbol of why I fell in love with you in the first place."

I chewed on my lower lip as he brushed a tear from my cheek, staring into my eyes until he was sure that I believed him before leaning in to kiss me again, trying to show me how he felt without words. I rested my hands against his chest and let him lead me this time, trusting him enough to be vulnerable. Sensing my surrender of power, he pulled my arms around his neck and bent my body into his.

* * *

****JOE POV****

She all but melted into me as the kiss deepened, and I lifted her to sit on the counter, allowing my hands to rest on her hips and pull her body against mine. It wasn't the first sensual moment that we had ever shared, but it was the first time that I had ever had her bare-skinned and vulnerable beneath my hands. In fact, I knew of only one other occasion when she'd ever been like this with anyone, although I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my head. I didn't want to remember that there was once a possibility that she would wind up with a man who wasn't me.

Her ankles crossed behind me, pressing me closer as my lips ghosted down her neck and across her shoulder. My fingers slid the straps of her brassiere down, allowing my mouth to continue its journey, and she leaned her head back against the mirror. She looked up at me in apparent surprise when I unhooked the clasp and allowed the material to fall away, but her eyes fluttered closed with a soft moan at the feel of my tongue across her breast, teasing the pink flesh stiff.

Her hands moved back to my chest and, for a moment, I thought she might stop me. Instead, I felt her slide them down to tug my shirt from my pants and backed away long enough to pull it over my head before she pulled me back into a heated kiss. Her bare chest against mine sent heat through me, and my arousal was evident to both of us. My hands went to her hips, pulling her body flush with mine so that we both groaned.

"Katie Baby…" The internal struggle was almost painful. My fingers rested on the soft cotton of her panties, restless and telling me how easy it would be to slip them out of the way, but in the midst of another deep kiss, my brain kept reminding me of Spiers' suspicious face and the knowledge that we could easily be discovered. "Maybe we should…"

She silenced me with my own words from so many months earlier.

"You think too much. Just kiss me, Joe."

Her fingernails ran up the base of my neck and into my hair, pulling me into her and littering my skin with goosebumps. This time, my brain was effectively drowned out by my pounding heart. I'd been waiting almost three years to touch her like I was touching her now, and in that moment, I couldn't bring myself to give a damn about getting caught doing so. She seemed to sense my decision, smiling into the kiss, and I felt her lift her hips from the counter, silently encouraging me to finish what I had started.

I slid the cotton panties away and paused, pulling her body into mine and burying my face in her neck. She hugged me back, and for a long minute, I just relished the feeling of her bare skin against mine. I nuzzled into her neck. That became a series of soft, slow kisses. There was a sensitive spot where her neck flowed into her collarbone and I ran the tip of my tongue along it, eliciting a quiet gasp. Encouraged, I focused on that spot, gently at first but growing in fervor until she was writhing against me, her fingernails running ragged scratches down my shoulder blades.

I was able to undo my belt and trousers without breaking contact, hissing as the pulsing heat of my own arousal finally brushed against the moist warmth of hers.

"Joe," she whispered, holding me impossibly tighter as if she were afraid I might disappear altogether.

I let my lips brush against her ear, murmuring in a low voice, "I'm not going anywhere, princess. I'm right here with you."

She turned, searching my eyes before meeting my lips, drawing me into a searing kiss. Her hands clasped on the back of my neck, seeking some sort of balance and leverage as I pushed gently forward and shifting her hips against mine to help me finally join our bodies for the first time.

When we were finally one I paused again, releasing a slow breath and willing my raging hormones back under my control. The fire-filled, lust-driven, war-torn soldier in me wanted to ravage her; to grab hold of her perfectly tapered hips and pour every ounce of pent-up sexual frustration into making her scream my name. But we would have time for that. The rest of our lives, in fact. Right now, the bigger part of me just wanted to love her, inside and out. To let every fiber of my being touch every fiber of hers, and to remind her that we had a life to look forward to when this was all over.

I pulled her hips forward, wrapping one arm around her lower back to hold her steady, and kept my movements gentle but firm until she gripped the edge of the counter and leaned her head back against the mirror, exposing her full body for my viewing pleasure. The biting of her lip as she struggled to contain soft moans of pleasure and the friction resulting from her limited experience drove me forward, increasing pace and intensity until both of us were breathing in heaving gasps.

The tightly wound coil of my arousal was quickly coming undone, and I clenched my eyelids shut, willing myself to concentrate and draw out her release first. One hand slipped across her sweat-glistening skin, trailing the valley between her breasts and down her stomach, before I finally allowed my fingers to brush across the bundle of nerves at her center. She bucked at my touch and I knew that she was close, so I held her firmly in place with my other hand, allowing my fingers to continue their work until her muscles went rigid and her fingernails bit into my skin, her mumbled, unintelligible encouragements becoming a cry of pleasure as she fell into her completion. I was immediately overcome with the sensation of it, and I could do nothing but groan against the skin of her neck as I throbbed with my own long-awaited release.

"You better not ever die on me, Joe Liebgott," she ordered, clutching me to her as a small child does with a favorite toy. "I love you so fucking much, and I don't know what I'd do if…"

"I love you too, Princess," I interrupted, kissing the top of her head as I held her against me. "You are everything I never knew that I always wanted."


	34. Chapter 34

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

As far as I was concerned, Dick Winters was a hero. As rough as the war had been… as many as we had lost… I had no doubt that the casualty rate would have been much higher without his leadership. He proved it again after Jackson was killed.

The brass wanted another patrol. They didn't see Jackson's death through the same lens as the rest of us, and they considered the first patrol a success. When word came down about the second patrol, Joe unleashed a string of expletives with such ferocity that I thought his head might explode. We stomped off to that briefing without the slightest pretense of willingness or blind patriotism. The plan, which we weren't varying at all from the night before, was idiotic and suicidal. We might have to follow orders, but we damn sure didn't have to be happy about it.

Then Winters reminded us of why we all held him in such high regard. He detailed our instructions. Then he looked around the room, making eye contact with each of us, and told us in his quiet, firm tone that we were all to get a good night's sleep. It took a moment to sink in.

"Which means that, in the morning, you will report to me that you made it across the river, but were unable to secure any live prisoners."

Spiers and Nixon stood at the opposite end of the table wearing small smiles, and Winters surveyed the room again to make sure that we all understood. Then, he told us to look sharp tomorrow. We were moving off the line. The three of them barely made it out of the room before Joe lifted me off the ground and kissed me.

"It's almost over, baby. It's almost time for me to take you home."

I wish he had been right. We all had a sense that things were finally drawing to a close in Europe. Coming off the line meant that maybe, just maybe, we could escape the death and destruction that had become our normal. Little did we know… It turns out that the real human tragedy of this war was not limited to the front line.

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

As we pulled off the line and settled into Landsberg, Germany, morale was higher than it had been in quite some time. One thing, however, that we had all lost patience for, was replacements. It wasn't all of them. They were kids, just as we had been once, and a lot of them wore their fear in their eyes, listening closely to the stories of the veterans and trying to learn how to stay alive. Others, though, came in like they could take on the entire German military by themselves. They hadn't been outside of the replacement depot, but they had war all figured out. All we had to do was just jump into Berlin, knock on Hitler's door, shoot the Nazi bastard, and things would be great. They wanted to "see some real action" and they talked about it incessantly, mostly to those of us who actually knew what "real action" looked like and weren't in the mood for their Hollywood ideals of war. It was only a matter of time before somebody lost it on one of the poor, dumb kids.

Frank Perconte was a happy guy. A little whiny sometimes but, generally, happy. I was a little surprised when he was the first one to go off. Frankly, everyone, including myself, assumed that it would be me, but one day at the OP, Frank had just about all he could take. Paddy O'Keefe, oblivious to the verbal cues that he had been giving, probably never saw it coming. On the way out, he asked the dreaded "jump into Berlin and see some real action" question and Frank's sarcastic response was, apparently, not enough of a warning to him. Once on watch Frank tried to settle into a book, but O'Keefe rattling around the outpost as though the Germans were going to sneak up on him, despite several comments for him to relax, made that impossible. When the poor kid began humming aloud as he stared down the barrel of the machine gun, Frank blew up and gave him a startling dose of truth.

I heard about it afterward from Frank. He felt bad about how he had reacted, but the truth was that all of the replacements probably needed the same reality check. They were chomping at the bit to see action, and they had no idea what they were asking for. I sat across from O'Keefe in the back of a truck as we rolled by a small building. German soldiers were being marched out at gunpoint by Russian officers and forced to kneel on the side of the road. The veterans didn't flinch when a shot was fired into each man's head, but O'Keefe's face blanched and he turned back to Frank and I with wide eyes. Welcome to "real action," kid.

I wish the brutal education had stopped there. It didn't. And on his next lesson, none of us were smirking anymore. Frank came running back, alone, from a patrol in the woods. He was breathless and panicked, and asking anyone he saw if they had seen any of the officers. When he finally saw the newly promoted Major Winters, we all found ourselves loaded into jeeps and trucks again, headed out into the woods in search of what the patrol had found.

I was completely unprepared for what awaited us. The first things I saw was Bull Randleman, perhaps the strongest man I knew, kneeling on the ground. His eyes were damp with tears and he looked as though he'd been sick, and he was holding his handkerchief to his face against the horrid, unmistakable smells of disease and death. His back was to a series of barbed wire fences, and behind those wires was a cluster of bodies so gray and emaciated that I could hardly believe they were real. Some were lying haphazardly, clearly dead. Some clung to the fence because it was all that kept them from falling. As we entered the camp, they just kept coming, streaming out of little huts and moving slowly forward on legs deformed by malnutrition and abuse. They hugged and kissed us, collapsing into our arms in sobs, blessing and thanking us. We were Americans, and Americans meant freedom. I was, at once, proud and appalled. My chest swelled with an overwhelming sense of purpose as my stomach lurched in nauseated disbelief.

The officers stood in a cluster around one of the prisoners, and Winters motioned me over to translate so that he could gain a deeper understanding of what we were looking at. As I relayed the questions and answers, my sickened shock began to burn inside my gut, morphing into anger. The smoking rubble indicated huts where prisoners had been burned alive before the cowardly guards had left, fearing discovery by the Americans. These weren't criminals. They were Jews. I surveyed the landscape again, and in every face, I saw someone I knew and loved. Then the man cried out in anguish, reaching out toward something none of us could see. I started to ask, but he touched Katie-Lynn's hair and hugged her, and his words ran my blood cold. There was a women's camp at the next railroad stop, and Katie-Lynn looked like someone he loved who was there. My Kaylee. It shook me to the core.

As a group went back to town to gather food, water and blankets, I stepped outside the fences and climbed into the back of a truck to smoke a cigarette and get some distance. My head was pounding from the smell and the stress, and I closed my eyes for a moment, pressing my fingers into my temples and willing my brain to shut off.

_The world was gray around me, and there was screaming, although it took me a moment to figure out where it was coming from. I felt impossibly crowded, as though I were being suffocated, and then a door was rolled open and a German officer was prodding me with a gun, forcing me out into the light outside of a… what was that? A train car? More men with guns awaited us, and I heard the scream again, this time right beside me. _

_The German officers were pulling a woman's desperate arms from me and, try as I might to hold on, I could not. I was struck and she was pulled away so that, at last, I could see her face for what I somehow understood would be the last time. My Kaylee. She was screaming for me to save her, and I could do nothing as she was dragged away._

I sat back up with a start, and rushed out of the truck to find her, crushing her with a hug and resolving to never close my eyes again. She didn't ask. She just held me, in that moment and again after I had to tell the prisoners that we had to keep them in the camp for the time being. On the way back to town, she didn't say a word. She didn't try to force me to talk about what I had seen, either with my eyes or in my mind. Slipping her fingers into mine, she leaned into me without mentioning that I was shaking with unexpressed anger and unshed tears. I pulled her into my lap, guarding her possessively against the demons in my mind that had ripped her away. Still, she said nothing. Just slipped her slender arms around me and tucked her face into my neck, reassuring me with her warmth that she wasn't going anywhere. I kissed her forehead and she brushed her lips across my jaw, and we sat there, wrapped up together in the back of that crowded truck. Across from me, Don smiled.


	35. Chapter 35

**** KATIE-LYNN POV ****

I couldn't sleep. The sounds of the camp were in my ears, the smells in my nose. Behind my eyelids were grainy, flashing pictures of bleak, gray faces. I sighed and opened my eyes again. In the darkness, a shadow stood over my bunk and I knew immediately that it was Joe. He must not be able to sleep either. Wordlessly, I pulled back my blanket so that he could slide underneath it, pulling it back over both of us. His body settled against me and I ran my fingers through his hair. His lips immediately found mine in the darkness, and I could taste the salty dampness of tears. Finally, after a long, slow kiss, his strong arm wrapped around my waist. He pulled me into him so that he could spoon my body with his and at last, content in our togetherness, we both began to drift into sleep.

His lips brushed the back of my neck, and his sleepy voice whispered against my ear, "I will never let them take you away from me."

Something happened to Joe at that God-forsaken camp. Something happened to all of us, but Joe… he had seen something that no one else saw. I didn't ask, and he didn't tell. Whatever it was, I could see that talking about it right then would have been too difficult. I had a good idea of part of it though. When the prisoner had revealed the existence of a women's camp, there was a moment of personal connection in Joe's eyes. That night when he spoke, I knew that he had been thinking of us. Of me.

Now that we had been moved to supervise the cleanup in Thalem, his eyes revealed how his hatred of the Germans had grown impossibly deeper. As we sat on a bombed-out terrace overlooking the ruins of the town, I could see the anger radiating off of him in waves. He had been quiet, even with his closest friends, since we left the camp. What little he had said was bitter and sarcastic. It seemed as though he could snap at any moment, swing up his weapon and mow down the whole lot standing on the street below. I had been staying close, but tried not to press him, knowing that he wouldn't respond well to such tactics. Still, I was concerned. Concerned that he was pushing people away. Pushing me away. It wasn't direct. He'd never said so much as a cross word in my direction, but I worried nonetheless.

Below, a man began to play the violin, a melancholy accompaniment to the scene and for the first time since we left the camp, Joe's eyes softened.

"I'll say one thing for the Germans. They sure do clean up good," Luz quipped, and Joe smirked.

"Yeah," he added in a soft voice. "All you need is a little Mozart."

"Beethoven," Captain Nixon corrected, making his way out onto the balcony. "That's Beethoven." Pausing briefly to watch the man, he turned back toward the group- me, Webster, Joe, Luz, Perconte, and Bull- and said something that had us all slack-jawed. "Hitler's dead. Shot himself in Berlin."

The war, as it turns out, still wasn't over. Apparently, the coward had ordered the 'Waffen SS to hole up in the mountains and make some kind of desperate last stand. We had orders to Berchestgaden. The group filed slowly off the balcony with Nixon, but as we reached the street, Joe caught my wrist, pulling me into a hidden corner and kissing me deeply.

"I'm so ready to get the hell out of here and take you home."

"It's almost over, Joe."

"Almost. I love you, princess. I know I've been a little off since… well, you know. But I love you so damn much. Don't forget that, okay? Just be patient with me."

Nixon poked his head back around the corner and told us jokingly that this wasn't a drive-in movie theater. Joe looked a little nervous at being "caught" by an officer, but I planted another kiss on his lips and told him I loved him. Then I winked at Nixon and walked out the door. Nix just motioned Joe out with a grin.

"Don't worry, Joe. Your secret is safe with me. You're a lucky man."

"Yes sir, I am."

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

I was seeing in black and white for some reason. Broken trees. Smoke rising from craters left behind by shells. I was turning, but I wasn't moving my legs. It was as though I was suspended in the air, spinning on some sort of pedestal over which I had no control. There was barbed wire and charred wood. Gray, alien corpses lay in piles, and a line of living, but lifeless, people marched slowly forward into a foreboding structure. Nazi officers with sadistic smiles prodded them along with pistols and rifles. Those who resisted were brutalized, but I couldn't hear their screams. I tried to reach out. To fight for them. But I was paralyzed. Paralyzed and deaf and forced to bear witness to the horror all over again. The line of Nazis turned, still wearing the horrific smiles, and swung up their weapons. I could see the muzzle fire as a line began to approach. For a moment, I took heart that someone was coming to intervene. Then, one by one, I began to see the faces. Faces I knew. Blithe. Hoobler. Skip. Penk. Bill. Toye. The faces of wounded men. Of dead men. And one by one, they fell again. Sound finally rushed into my ears, and I could hear the cries of the people again. Her scream cut above it all, and my body turned in time to see her fighting against one of the officers who was trying to force her into the building.

"Joe! Help me, please! Joe!"

Her last scream was punctuated by gunshots, and she fell forward, the red blooming from her chest and forehead becoming the only color I could see.

I jerked awake to find myself in the back of a truck, with Don and George staring at me with concern. The one person I didn't see was Katie-Lynn. Panic washed over me, robbing me of my breath and setting my heart racing. When I demanded to know where she was, they both looked at me in confusion and pointed to the blanket on my lap. For the first time, I felt the weight of her head across my legs, but her face was completely covered by the blanket… the way they covered the dead. My hand trembled as I reached to pull the blanket back, terrified of what I would find underneath.

She was sleeping peacefully. There were no bullet holes. I ran my fingers through her hair and across her neck, feeling the steady, strong beat of her pulse against my fingers.

"Joe," Don said quietly. He and George were leaning forward with worried eyes. "What did you see at that camp?"

George prodded, "Come on, man. You've been like this ever since we left. We've all had nightmares, but this is something else. Maybe if you talk to us, you can get past it."

I nodded and checked again to make sure that she was asleep. I didn't want to give her any more reason to worry about me. At last, I confessed to George and Don what I had seen at the camp… the women's camp… the daydream about her being torn away from me… and the nightmares and panic attacks that had been plaguing me since.

Don blew out a slow breath and, after a moment, said, "Man, I can't really blame you for feeling the way you feel, but she's okay. She's right beside you. You're not in one of those camps, and the war is almost over. Don't let this eat away at you, and don't shut yourself off from your friends. We are all here for each other. And don't risk pushing her away."

George nodded and I agreed that what he said made sense. I could feel myself retreating inside since we left the camp, talking less and not joking around with the guys as much. The anger was eating at me. It was a dangerous place to be mentally, and I knew that if I didn't put a stop to it, it would be very easy to get wrapped up in it. I made up my mind then not to allow that to happen.

The sleeping beauty in my lap was worth me putting all of that anger aside for. We had a life to look forward to after this damned war was finally over, and I would waste it by pushing the love of my life away with anger.


	36. Chapter 36

****KATIE-LYNN POV****

Well, Hitler certainly knew how to pick his spots. His Eagle's Nest was built on a Bavarian mountaintop, with a balcony overlooking the world. I stood at a window in what must have been, if the dresses and jewelry were any indication, a room kept for Eva Braun, the woman who had been Hitler's mistress. It was amazing to me that a man could look out on such unbelievable beauty and see fit to order the destruction of an entire culture.

I could hear some commotion outside the room but before I could investigate, Joe was behind me and spinning me into his arms. I could taste the champagne on his tongue as my fingers wound through his hair. His arms tightened around my waist; his hands slipped down to cup my rear and effortlessly lifted me off my feet, wrapping my legs around him. The kiss was hungry but not desperate. He was exploring me slowly, just as he had done that first night under the plane at Upottery, and his lips felt like silk along my skin.

The bed sank beneath our shared weight as he knelt on it. I felt its softness against my back as his weight settled across me, his hands running along my sides and stomach as his mouth moved along my neck. My pulse raced, sending my blood to every spot that he touched, and I felt the cool rush of air as, inch by torturous inch, my shirt slid up over my head. My own hands tugged at his shirt, needing to feel his skin on mine again and when I did, the satisfaction was audible.

His hips ground into mine, and all I could do was surrender to the sensation. One hand gripped my thigh possessively, pulling against the friction where we were pressed together so intimately. The other slid into mine, intertwining our fingers and pressing them into the bed above my head. His teeth scraped across my breast and I gasped his name.

* * *

****JOE POV****

I was on fire. Every fiber of my being wanted her and, without even thinking about it, I was kneeling above her, sliding her trousers over her hips. She looked up at me through her eyelashes, nibbling her lower lip as she ran her fingernails down my bare abdomen to the button of my own trousers. My head fell back, eyes closed, and I let out a slow breath as she sat up, kissing down my stomach while she pushed the last remaining barrier between us out of the way. Her mission completed, she lay back across the bed underneath me, pulling my dog tags down as she went.

I hadn't really been able to touch her like this since the night Jackson died and, although I had been blocking the need from my mind so that I could function, my body responded to the familiar sensations immediately, stiff and straining, coming alive at the feel of her. The only other people nearby were drunk and seated on an outside balcony across the stone building. The walls were thick, built to withstand an attack, and I had closed the door firmly behind me when I came in. With troopers drifting all over Berchestgaden, exploring Hitler's hideaway, no one would be looking for us. We were, for the first time in forever, truly and completely alone. She didn't speak and I didn't ask, and neither of us bothered to muffle our moans as I moved to join our bodies.

Her hand was on my chest and then on my hip, pulling me into her as she moved against me, demanding more. I thought back to that night in Hagueneau, and how the hot-blooded man in me had struggled to take over, fighting the urge to ravage her over and over again until she could say nothing but my name. The moment hadn't been right that night. That night had been about healing and reassurance. I sensed that this time might be different, and I longed to drop my guard with her, not because I was so much longing for that raw, animalistic passion as much as that I just wanted to surrender completely to this feeling. I was so used to being in control, and I wanted to lose it all with her. But was this that moment? Looking down into her eyes, I got my answer.

* * *

****KATIE-LYNN POV****

I could sense that Joe was restraining himself, trying, as always, to make sure that I was okay. I was. I trusted Joe completely, and his body fit with mine as though we were two parts of the same mold. He had been gentle and tender, trying to bandage my broken heart the night we lost Jackson by showing me how he felt without words. Now, though, I sensed a clawing passion inside him that was desperate to come out.

He looked down into my eyes and I pulled him back to my lips, whispering, "Don't hold it back, Joe," as his tongue brushed mine.

The effect was immediate. He moaned into the kiss, tangling his fingers in my hair and tugging to allow him better access to my mouth and neck. His hips snapped forward as his other hand moved to grip my thigh. When I responded with a gasp, he repeated the motion just as his teeth caught the tender spot where my neck met my collarbone.

"Joe…"

It was the only thing that I could get out, but it was enough. At the sound of his name, he cursed and crashed his lips to mine in a searing kiss. A switch had been flipped inside him. One hand remained on my thigh, pulling me impossibly closer as he increased the pace of his thrusts, swallowing every whimper and moan that tried to escape from my mouth. The other hand caught my arm as it was moving to wrap around his shoulder, pressing my wrist to the bed.

Joe was being anything but gentle with me this time, finally allowing all of the repressed anger and feeling he'd been bottling up to escape, not as violence, as I had once feared, but as passion. Passion for me. The friction building inside me was delicious, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of reason. He must have sensed it because he changed his rhythm, slowing the pace and, instead, lighting my nerves on fire with long, deep movements. My body was trembling underneath him, and the deep rumble in his chest let me know that I wasn't the only one getting close.

"Fuck, baby, you feel so good."

I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. He abandoned the slow, steady rhythm as his own control unraveled, his movements becoming erratic but still determined, desiring only to be deeper, somehow more together than we already were. He was no longer kissing my skin, but allowing his lips to just ghost along the surface where the light touch and his breath had my nerves tingling. He released my thigh and looped his arm underneath my knee, pushing it back toward my stomach and growling in satisfaction at the sensation produce by this new angle.

"Oh my god," I managed to exhale, digging my fingernails into his shoulder blade. In response, he pressed my other hand deeper into the bed, driving his hips forward until I was crying out in pleasure.

"That's right, princess. No one can hear you but me."

My muscles were quivering and tensing, no longer under my control, and every movement produced such amazing friction that my mind eventually quit trying to keep up and allowed the pleasure to take over completely. Joe's gravelly, lust-laden voice was in my ear, mumbling encouragement and almost begging me to let go and fall over the cliff into ecstasy. At last, my world went bright. I could no longer tell if my eyes were open or closed as I spiraled into a shuddering release with nothing but his name on my lips. With a final thrust, he buried his face in my neck and I felt him throb inside me, one last growl punctuating his own pleasure.

When we caught our breath, he rolled and pulled me into him for a moment, kissing my forehead before handing me my underwear so that we could get dressed and rejoin our Company before anyone noticed we were missing. Once we were dressed, we stopped to smile contentedly at each other again, and he pulled me into another soft kiss before pressing his lips once more to my forehead.

"That was quite a way to celebrate making it up the mountain," I teased, and he smiled.

"Oh, princess, that's not all we were celebrating. The Germans surrendered. You know what that means? It means that soon, we can go home and start our life. We're celebrating V-E Day. We're celebrating our future."


	37. Chapter 37

**A SHORT CHAPTER, AND A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT I WANTED TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KAYLEE AND JOE FROM A LITTLE DIFFERENT ANGLE AT THIS POINT. AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE YOUR AMAZING FAVORITES, FOLLOWS, AND REVIEWS. MORE UPDATES COMING VERY SOON NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS WINDING DOWN. I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, AND HAPPINESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. I KNOW THE NEXT YEAR WILL HOLD AMAZING THINGS FOR ALL OF US.**

* * *

****KATIE-LYNN POV****

None of us had wanted to leave Berchestgaden but the mood was jubilant as we rolled through the now-peaceful beauty of the Austrian countryside. People ran alongside the trucks greeting their American liberators, and the men were practically falling out into the street as they reached out to touch the hands of the young, beautiful women on the road. I laughed because I could almost see the promise of fraternization in their eyes. They were young men who were finally getting to behave like young men again, and it was refreshing, even for those of us who had no interest in taking part in the action.

Beside me, Joe leaned in conspiratorially and caught my earlobe between his teeth before kissing behind it and whispering, "You know, these boys don't know what they're missing out on. They may have their fun fraternizing with these girls, but not a one of them holds a candle to the woman I get to make love to."

I turned my heated face toward his, his eyes barely concealing the smile that showed he knew he was torturing me.

"Why do you do that to me? You know I can't just kiss you here in front of everybody, and yet you tease me."

He winked but feigned innocence, protesting, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was just saying is all."

Fine. Two could play at that game. I leaned into his side, letting my lips brush the shell of his ear, and smiling as I felt him shudder.

"Well that may be, but one of these days you are going to just say, and I'm going to climb into your lap just like I did that night in the foxhole. You remember that night, don'tcha, Joe? Your hands on my ass. My hips pressed against yours. Kissing down your neck..."

"Okay, okay," he interrupted. "Fuck! No more teasing. Or else I'm gonna take you right here and now, and I really don't want anyone else seeing my woman naked. I really need a fucking shower right now." I laughed and leaned back, holding up my hands in surrender. He glared at me with smoldering eyes, my laugh dying in my throat as he finished, "With you in it, pressed against the wall."

"Oh my God, will you two please get a room?" Talbert demanded, breaking the flow of sexual tension coursing between Joe and I. "You guys are worse than all of us put together! And I really don't need the audible reminder of what I'm missing out on! Come on, Katie-Lynn. Aren't you tired of him yet? You know what a pain in the ass he is. You should ditch him and cuddle up with me instead."

"Sorry for the show, Tab," Joe chuckled, although we both knew that he wasn't. Joe was still a bit leery of Floyd when it came to how he flirted with me. "I'm not letting this one go. And there will be absolutely no cuddling with you."

He slid an arm possessively around me and kissed the top of my head as I laid it against his shoulder. Tab rolled his eyes and leaned back against the sideboard.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Hands off Mrs. Liebgott, everybody," he muttered, and the whole truck laughed.

* * *

****JOE POV****

Okay, so maybe I was a little possessive. Insecure even. But dammit, she was surrounded all day every day by men who wanted a chance with her. Now, most of them were pretty good about respecting what we had going, but you had to keep an eye on a guy like Tab. Not that I thought he'd try to steal my girl on purpose, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. The kid was a natural flirt. He would kiss anything with long hair and lips, and I knew he'd had a bit of a crush on Kaylee since we were at Toccoa. He was forever offering to help her with her harness, show her how to play pool, or share a foxhole and a blanket to warm her up. I watched him now, pouting a bit as he kicked at her foot trying to get her attention like a little kid on the playground, and I could feel my teeth grinding. Sometimes I wondered if he did it on purpose, but he definitely knew how to bring out my jealous side.

"Hey." Her quiet voice came from my shoulder. I glanced down to find her, to my surprise, looking up at me instead of over at Talbert. "You're not getting all worked up over him again, are you?"

"No," I sulked. "But he flirts with you in front of me just to piss me off." Instead of sympathy, I was met with laughter. She reached up and tucked my pouting lip back in, biting back another giggle until I finally started laughing myself. "I can't help it! Make him stop fucking with me!"

"Aww, is he picking on you?" I nodded and she glanced between us, a sly smile on her face. "Well, I can fix that."

Before I could ask her how, she slipped her hand behind my neck and pulled me into a brazen kiss that earned whistles and catcalls from the entire truck, and a loud curse from one Floyd Talbert. When she pulled away, I was as drunk on her as I had been on the champagne from V-E Day. She bit back another smile, but her eyes sparkled when she winked at me, and I fell in love with her all over again right there in the back of the damn truck. Mrs. Liebgott indeed.

* * *

****TALBERT POV****

Come on. You can't blame a guy for trying, can you? I mean, everyone in the company, including me, knew that we didn't have a chance of stealing her away from Joe. The two just balanced each other out. They made a weird sort of sense together. Still, I am a man, and Katie-Lynn was one of those women that most men would put up at the top of their list and dream about. There was a lot to like about her, not the least of which, as much as I hated to admit it, was the fact that she would so publicly and proudly let everyone know who she wanted to be with.

For two years during training, it seemed that Liebgott might be the only man capable to competing with me for fraternization efforts once we got to Europe, but it seemed that everything had changed on D-Day. The two of them had always been close. For a while, we thought it might just be two friends having a little fling to stave off the loneliness, or maybe just to help her get over Malarkey. It wasn't until the night he tried to fight Bill at the bar that the rest of us understood. Joe was a wild card. A ruthless hunter. A lion. Somewhere along the way, Katie-Lynn had taken her place at his side. His lioness, I suppose. Or maybe a lion tamer.

I had nothing against Joe. In fact, he was a great guy. But hey, like I said, you can't blame a guy for trying, can you? A man can dream.

Malarkey caught me staring after them once we unloaded and settled in to Zell Am See. He elbowed me in the side and shook his head, telling me not to even bother; that the two of them were made for each other. It was a shocking revelation from the man who had once talked about marrying and having a family with her, but it seemed that even Don had been made a believer. He must have sensed my surprise, because it was then that he told me of how she had calmed Joe in the truck as we were leaving that hellacious camp. She was, Don said, the one person who could temper him when he was at the edge of his control, and we all knew how dangerous an out-of-control Joe Liebgott could be.

He made a believer out of me a couple of weeks later, when I saw Joe and a couple of others jump out of a jeep and speak to Captain Spiers. I heard from Webster that Spiers had sent them to take out some Nazi Commandant living in a little shack not far from where we were staying. Apparently, Joe had all but exploded as he "questioned" the man before carrying out the order to execute him. Even now, listening to Webster recount the story, I could see Joe seething while he confirmed to Spiers that his order had been carried out. His jaw was clenched, and his whole body shook as though he were buzzing with angry energy.

From across the street, Webster and I watched as Kaylee approached him when Spiers walked away. Normally, everyone steered clear of him when he was like this, but she walked up to him without fear and wrapped her arms around his waist. The transformation was immediate, and so stunning that Webster and I stopped talking to watch. The tension drained out of his body. He wrapped her up in his arms and pressed his lips to the top of her head, just holding her there for a few minutes. Then she smiled up at him and he smiled back, not a forced smile to satisfy her, but a genuine, relaxed smile of contentment. I think my mouth actually dropped open in surprise as they walked past us, hand in hand. Malarkey was right. She had actually tamed the lion.


	38. Chapter 38

**THIS CHAPTER IS A BIT SHORT. SORRY ABOUT THAT, BUT I PROMISED TO KEEP UPDATING AND I WANTED TO GET THIS UP. I ALSO WANTED TO THANK THE REVIEWER WHO TOOK THE TIME TO TELL ME THAT THIS STORY WASN'T QUITE WHAT SHE WAS LOOKING FOR. ALTHOUGH I AM PROUD OF THIS STORY, I RESPECT YOUR OPINION AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE GETTING AT. THIS STORY WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE THE TYPE OF STORY YOU DESCRIBED, BUT I AM WORKING ON SOME STORIES THAT DO FALL A LITTLE MORE INTO THAT CATEGORY. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL KEEP TRACK OF MY WORK AND THAT YOU FIND SOMETHING MORE TO YOUR LIKING IN THE FUTURE. IN THE MEAN TIME, I HOPE YOU WILL KEEP EXPLORING THIS FORUM BECAUSE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FABULOUS WRITERS WHO HAVE POSTED SOME STORIES LIKE THE ONE YOU WANT TO READ. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR REVIEW. YOU ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT TO MY WRITING AS THE POSITIVE REVIEWS.**

**TO THOSE OF YOU THAT DO ENJOY THIS STORY, PLEASE ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND STAY TUNED... I'M STILL DECIDING WHERE THIS IS GOING. :)**

* * *

****JOE POV****

"So, we're doing this. Right? We're taking everyone's name out except for Shifty and Katie-Lynn?"

The group around me nodded in agreement. We had heard that there was to be a lottery on the anniversary of D-Day, and that one person from each company would receive an immediate discharge and a trip home, regardless of how many points they had. We had begun regular physical training and combat drills again, and we had a pretty good idea of what that meant. We were all waiting for the brass to confirm our suspicion that Easy Company and the 101st Airborne would be redeployed and there were a good number of Normandy veterans who still didn't have enough points to go home.

One of those was Shifty Powers. He didn't have any medals to show and he had never been wounded, but you would be hard-pressed to find a man more respected among our company or to count the number of lives he had saved with his sharp eyes and his rifle. After hearing that he was not only short the 85 points required for discharge, but short by 15 points, the rest of the men got together and made a decision. We would ask our COs to withdraw our names from the lottery without letting Shifty know. The agreement had been made when Don spoke up beside me and pointed out what I hoped that no one had noticed.

"Where is Katie-Lynn?" I shoved my hands into my pockets and stared at the ground as everyone looked around. I could feel Don's eyes burning into me, waiting on me to respond. He finally demanded, "You didn't tell her about this, did you? What are you doing, Joe?"

"If she doesn't know, then she can't take her name out. I didn't think anyone would have a problem with that. Especially you."

"Do you have any idea how pissed off she is going to be? She would never agree to this and you know it."

"Then she doesn't need to find out," Bull interjected. "Joe's right. It should be Shifty or her. I'm not too keen on the idea of our Kaylee going to the Pacific, no matter how tough she is. She'd never agree to this on her own, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

A chorus of agreement came behind him, and I looked back at Don.

"So, we're doing this. Right? We're taking everyone's name out except for Shifty and Katie-Lynn?"

Don sighed and assented, "Yeah. I'm with you. She'll be furious if she ever finds out, but I damned sure don't want her going to the Pacific if there is a way to prevent it. God, I hope that she doesn't find out."

* * *

****KATIE-LYNN POV****

I hugged Shifty Powers as soon as we were dismissed from formation. There had been a D-Day anniversary lottery, and he was going home. I knew that he'd been well short of the point requirements, although he tried not to show that he was concerned, and the look on his face when Spiers had announced his name was priceless, and there was no reason for him to ever know that his name had been the only one in the helmet. When Welsh had mentioned that others had been willingly removing their names, I was not surprised and quickly added my name to the list. He would be missed, but he deserved this, and it did a lot for the morale of a company who was waiting on pins and needles to find out what was next for us. Spiers wasted no more time in letting us know. We were going to be redeployed to the Pacific. Shifty hugged me back and whispered for me to be careful, take care of Joe, and visit Virginia when the war was over. I kissed his cheek and watched him get into a jeep to go fill out his paperwork.

Then I went to find Joe. I was rounding the corner of a building when I heard he and Talbert. It sounded like they were arguing, and I was prepared to break it up, but the words brought me up short.

"I'm telling you, Joe, there was only one name in that helmet and it was Shifty's. I mean, I'm happy he is going home, but she must have found out somehow and took her name out."

"Dammit! Who told her? We all agreed that we would keep her out of it. She couldn't make the choice if we took it away from her! At least we had a chance to send her home! Get her out of here!"

I shoved my hands in my pockets as I approached so that I could suppress the urge to punch them both, but my clenched jaw gave me away, and I could see the "oh shit" look on Talbert's face when he saw me over Joe's shoulder.

"I'm sorry that you weren't able to get rid of me, Joe. You know, when Welsh came to me about the lottery, I just figured that the reason I didn't know about the plan was because everyone had been taking their names out on their own. I didn't realize that you had led some kind of plot to get me out of here."

He ducked his head a moment, then shook it and looked back up, reaching out for me. I took a step backward.

"Kaylee, please. That's not what I meant."

"Oh? Well, let's see. What are my choices here? On one hand, you and the rest of this company conspired to send me home because you didn't want me here. On the other hand, you knew that the company was getting together to talk about Shifty being 15 points short and you purposely didn't tell me because you knew that I would take my name out. Neither of those are really thrilling prospects, Joe."

Talbert cleared his throat uncomfortably and edged away from us until he apparently felt safe enough to break into a jog. I shot daggers into his back with my eyes until Joe spoke again.

"Look, I knew you would be pissed, but can you really blame us? We just want you safe! We've all been watching those films from the Pacific. I just don't know if I can take this worrying about losing you anymore. So, yes, I purposely didn't tell you about the plan. If you want to be mad at me, then fine. Be mad. I love you. I want you safe. So fucking what?"

"You were trying to take away my choice! You lied to me!"

We were both screaming now.

"We didn't do anything different than what we did to Shifty! What you did to Shifty! It was out of love! Fuck! If you can't see that, then I don't know what the hell to tell you! I'm done talking about this. I'm sorry if your pride got hurt, but I will not apologize for wanting to see you headed back home, safe and waiting for me to walk through the door and start our life! But lucky you. You're still here and you get to head on out to the checkpoint with Chuck. Maybe we'll both live to regret this argument." His words struck me in the gut, but he left me no time to reply, brushing past me with his teeth grinding. As he walked away, he added, "Do me a favor and don't be a bitch to Chuck at the checkpoint. He wasn't all that happy about not telling you the truth, but he did it as a favor to me. And don't get shot while you're out proving me wrong."


	39. Chapter 39

****KATIE-LYNN POV****

I was unsettled. I was in a jeep with Chuck and a couple of replacements, headed for the checkpoint and listening to him tell a funny story about Bill, but I had to force a chuckle. My mind wandered. My stomach was twisting. It just felt all wrong to be leaving things unresolved between me and Joe.

We passed Major Winters on the road and I noticed that an ominous fog was starting to settle in. Then, ahead of us, the eerie glow of headlights shone through the wet air. Chuck trailed off his story and slowed the jeep to a stop. A man stood ahead of us on the road, shielding his eyes from the glare of the headlights, and I could see the glint of a pistol in his hand. There were two other jeeps on the other side of the road, one of which was still running, and the man appeared to be stumbling a bit. My first thought was that there had been some sort of bad accident. Considering the weather, and the recent loss of Janovec to a freak jeep accident, it wouldn't have been altogether surprising. When he spoke though, it quickly became clear that he was intoxicated.

He appeared to be an American paratrooper, but the feeling of dread was rising from my stomach into my throat. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Chuck, please be careful. He's got a gun."

Chuck's eyes never left the apparently distressed trooper as he climbed from the truck.

"Stay here. Joe would kill me if something happened to you."

"Chuck…"

"Stay here, Kaylee. Please," he pleaded. Then he stepped slowly forward into the halo of the headlights. I could hear him trying to elicit a response from the guy. "Hey buddy, you okay?"

The trooper gestured wildly with the pistol as he finally offered what appeared to be less of a reply to Chuck's question and more of an observation he was making to himself, although he seemed to be talking to someone on the ground.

"He wouldn't give me any gas."

The sardonic tone of his voice and chuckle sent a chill all over me, and Chuck and I both followed his line of sight. I could see hands splayed out in the mud between the jeeps. The arms attached to those hands appeared to be in uniform. There were other hands. Other uniforms. My blood ran cold as the panic of realization washed over me, but I could still hear him muttering racial slurs. He thought one of the dead uniforms was a Major. Did Chuck have any gas?

Chuck was still trying to reason with him, now realizing that we had a much more serious problem that just a drunken trooper. The trooper seemed only vaguely aware that Chuck was even standing there. The three of us left in the jeep were putting finger marks into the seats and dash as the tension of the moment continued to rise. Then, it snapped.

The trooper decided out loud to take the still-running jeep that had belonged to the dead Major. Chuck called out, stepping forward to stop him. A shot rang out, but in that moment, nothing was louder than the impact of that bullet striking Chuck's skull. I was out of the jeep almost before his body had crumpled to the ground, two replacements hot on my heels.

"Oh, my God! Chuck!"

"Sarge!"

"You son of a bitch! Stop him!"

For a moment, it was pandemonium as we were both trying to attend to the fallen Sergeant Grant and stop his shooter from escaping. I thought he was getting into the jeep and I was kneeling as one of the replacements moved past me to grab him. The next thing I felt was the painful digging of my dog tags into my neck as I was grabbed from behind and pulled roughly to my feet. I struggled to breathe as he twisted the chain behind me, pressing the barrel of the pistol into my neck.

The alcohol on his breath and the restriction of blood and oxygen to my brain was making my head swim as he pulled me backward toward the running jeep, daring the wide-eyed replacements to challenge him again. I thought I could see them edging forward, but the black spots appearing in my vision were making it hard to tell. I could feel that my neck was bleeding now, although I couldn't tell whether it was from the metal or from my fingernails clawing in a desperate attempt to get some air. My back hit the jeep just as my body gave out. With the last of my strength, I tried to reach behind me, hoping desperately to catch his face. I heard another gunshot and an unfamiliar popping sound, and then I was falling. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe. Some say that hearing might be the last thing to go, and it was for me. I heard the jeep still running, and the sound of moving tires near my ear. Then a sickening crunch. Then nothing.

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

"Something is wrong. I'm telling you. Something is fucking wrong."

I felt like I was coming out of my skin. I'd been pacing the floor in our barracks for the last half hour, chain-smoking and talking out loud while the others stared at me like I had three heads.

"Joe, what are you talking about?" Don finally asked, stepping in front of me.

"Katie-Lynn. Something is wrong, Don. I can feel it."

"Joe, I just saw her an hour ago. She was headed out to the checkpoint with Chuck. She was fine. What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault. I fought with her and now something is wrong and it's my fault."

I must have looked like I had lost my mind, but sudden understanding flooded Malarkey's face.

"So, you had a fight with her. You had a fight and now you're worried. That's normal, Joe, but you have got to calm down. Come on. Calm down and try to get some sleep."

He had his hands on my shoulders as if to steady me, his tone unintentionally patronizing, and I pushed him away. I was glaring at him, fire in my eyes.

"No, Don! I know her! I can feel her! Something is very fucking wrong!"

He stared back at me for a second, studying my face, and he began to look worried.

"You're serious, aren't you? You really think something is wrong?"

I barely had time to nod before Talbert, now our First Sergeant, burst through the door. He wasn't alone. Other members of Easy were crowded into the hallway behind him. I saw the two replacements that had been in Chuck's jeep, but Chuck and Katie-Lynn were nowhere to be found.

I met his eyes. They looked almost apologetic. One look at his face and my heart and stomach traded places. Don's hand gripped my shoulder. Men who had been listening to me prophesy a problem at the checkpoint for the last 30 minutes now began to stand around me for support as we listened to Floyd Talbert relay a nightmare.

"Chuck's jeep was attacked on the way to the checkpoint. Shots were fired. It doesn't look good. Chuck was shot in the head. Our surgeon said that there was nothing he could do, so Doc and Spiers are out searching for another doctor. Right now, Spiers wants us to split up. Cover every road out of town. Two teams, each take one of these witnesses on a house-to-house search."

We were following him out of the room as we pulled on our ODs, holstering pistols and shouldering rifles, when Don asked the question that I was sure was on a lot of minds.

"Can we shoot this bastard on sight?"

Talbert spoke over his shoulder, and through gritted teeth, as he led us down the hallway.

"Try and take him alive."

"What about Kaylee? Is she okay? Did she stay with Chuck?" I heard Bull ask.

My head snapped up to get Floyd's response and I found him looking at me again.

"She's…" His hesitation was chillingly telling. "I don't know right now. I just… don't know."


	40. Chapter 40

**** DON POV ****

Joe's heart was beating at least as loud as the pounding of my fist on the doors of the houses we were searching. We had one of the eyewitnesses with us, and Joe had been hammering the poor kid for every single detail of what had happened, trying in vain to get some idea of what Katie-Lynn's condition had been when he'd last seen her. The kid couldn't tell us much, and I had almost begun to hope that the other search party would be the one to find the shooter. Talbert said that we were to try to take him alive and if Joe were the first one to see him at this point, I wasn't sure that would happen.

"Where the fuck is this guy hiding?" he exploded as we left another house empty-handed. "I'm going to kick over every fucking rock in this country if I have to. Dammit, kid, are you sure she wasn't awake when you got to her?"

The young replacement sighed apologetically as he answered Joe's question for the hundredth time.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I wish I could tell you more. I just know that she wasn't awake and that the doc said it didn't look good."

It had been almost frightening that Joe seemed to know the moment that something had happened to her. We had written his frantic demeanor off as a result of the fight they had before she left. Then we had been told what happened. The poor kid had already described, at Joe's insistence, every moment of the attack and every injury that he could see on her body. He had been unsure, but he thought she'd been run over by the fleeing jeep. There had definitely been another gunshot fired, but he couldn't be sure how much of the blood that he saw came from Chuck, and how much had come from her. Listening to him tell the story again, I could feel my own stomach twisting with fear for my best friend-turned lover-turned best friend again. Where the hell was this bastard, and why couldn't Doc have given us any more information on her condition?

"Malark!" I heard someone yell from somewhere down the block, and then I saw Frank Perconte jogging toward us. "We got him. They're taking him back to the CP now, and I heard they found a brain surgeon so…"

"What about Katie-Lynn?" Joe and I asked at the same moment.

Frank just looked down and shook his head, "I'm sorry. I don't know how either of them is doing. I just heard they found someone who would try to work on Chuck."

Joe cursed under his breath and I caught a glimpse of the moisture in his eyes as he hung his head and followed us toward the CP. Frank looked at me warily, and I knew that we were both worried about what was going to happen once we were in the same room with the shooter. We silently agreed to keep an eye on Joe. The last thing he needed right now was to wind up in trouble because his split-temper took over.

We walked into the building, following the sound of raised voices to a room that was now full of angry members of Easy Company. Seated on a chair in the center of the room was a drunken paratrooper wearing a surprisingly defiant expression for a man who was bound and surrounded by men who wanted nothing more than to injure him.

"Hey Joe, how ya holding up?" Babe asked as we entered the crowded space. Joe's expression said more than he ever could, and Babe patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, man."

Pat Christianson held his hand out and said, "Here, buddy. We found these on him when we were searching him." Then he uncurled his fingers and dropped a set of dog tags into Joe's open palm.

From the chair, the shooter smirked, "So you're the guy from the tag that the little Easy Company bitch was wearing?"

The two guys on either side of me grabbed my arms. It took another three to catch Joe as he dove forward. To everyone's surprise, it was Webster than connected with the bastard's jaw, knocking him completely off of the chair and then standing over him with a glare that dared him to speak again. After a moment, he ground his teeth, straightened his uniform, and stepped away so that Bull could reach down and lift the bleeding prisoner back onto the chair. I gave him an approving nod and Joe mouthed his thanks as, from the corridor, I could hear Spiers' voice demanding to know where the shooter was.

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

The door burst open and Spiers walked in, the anger radiating off of him in waves.

"That him?" he asked, staring down the bastard like he was prey about to be devoured.

"That's him," Bull confirmed. "Replacement. I Company."

Clearly this arrogant ass hadn't heard the stories of Captain Ronald Spiers yet, or else the alcohol had really bolstered his nerve, because he continued to be defiant even as Spiers was questioning him. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of satisfaction when the butt of the gun met his face, and no one in the room moved to intervene when Spiers placed the barrel between his eyes. At last, he thought better of blowing his head off, finally wiping the man's blood from his hand and turning away, and the whole room seemed to release a long-held breath. Inside, though, I was panicking. If Spiers was this angry after returning from the hospital, it could mean only one thing.

"Grant's dead?" Talbert asked, and Spiers stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"No, Kraut surgeon says he's gonna make it."

Then, his eyes found mine and the look of exhaustion in them caused my panic to boil over.

"What about Katie-Lynn? Where is she? I want to see her."

"Liebgott, you can't…" he started.

"Is she okay?" My voice was rising, and I was trying desperately to tug my arms away from Bull and Don. The more I struggled, the more I began to sob, "I have to know, sir! I have to see her! Let go of me! I need to see Kaylee!"

Spiers' voice was frustratingly calm as he placed a hand on my chest and said, "Listen, Joe, I know that you care about Katie-Lynn, but…"

I lost it. Bull had an arm wrapped completely around my waist now to keep me from lunging at the Captain, while trying to stay clear of my swinging fists.

"Care about her? Care about her?!" I shrieked at him, fighting to breathe between sobs, screams, and struggling with those holding me back. "That's my fucking wife! Do you hear me? I want to see my wife!"

* * *

**** TALBERT POV ****

"Is she dead?" I heard him ask, his sobs forcing his voice to a whisper.

I brushed my sleeve across my eyes as the heart-breaking scene unfolded before me, and I noticed that I wasn't the only one. Every face in the room was watching with a mixture of sympathy and sadness as the steely-eyed, ice-water-in-his-veins Joe Liebgott completely melted down over the woman he loved. Some brushed away tears of their own while others, like Don and Bull, let them fall freely. Spiers, who had been ready to shoot a man only a moment earlier, now had tears brimming his own eyes as he spoke quietly to the broken man before him.

"Joe, listen to me. I'm going to be very honest with you. I can tell you that the jeep must have missed running over by inches, because it looked as though the dead officer found next to where she was laying was hit as he fled the scene. As best they can tell, she was choked and dragged by her dog tags until they snapped. By then, she was unconscious and she hit her head on the jeep when she fell. The gunshot grazed her neck and clipped the artery, so she lost a lot of blood. They did a transfusion. She's not dead, but she's in bad shape."

With every word, Joe moved closer to hyperventilation. Still, Spiers knew that it would do no good to gloss over the truth. He was telling Joe to prepare himself for the worst.

"She has to be okay. I have to see her, sir. You don't understand. That's my…"

"Your wife. Yes, I know. But Doc isn't going to let you see her unless you calm down."

"I need to see her, sir. I need to tell her that I love her and I'm sorry. Please. I can't let her die without…" his voice faltered completely, and this time, I made no effort to wipe the tears from my face.

Spiers studied him for a long moment, then stepped back and surveyed the crowd of anxious, upset paratroopers that surrounded him. Finally, he made up his mind.

"Alright. Load up," he ordered at last, and within a few minutes, a group of us were huddled into the back of a truck, trying to comfort Joe and Don as we rumbled toward the hospital.

Eugene Roe was waiting for us at the door as we spilled out in front of the building, and Joe stopped short at the sight of him. Don stood beside him, and it was hard to tell who was holding who up, but the whole company seemed to be holding its breath again. Sensing that everyone was afraid to ask, Spiers took the lead.

"What's the latest news, Doc?"

"Grant is stable, sir. The surgeon says that, considering what he's been through tonight, he's in better shape than he should be." Then he turned toward Joe. "Liebgott, Malarkey, I'm sorry but I haven't gotten any more news on Katie-Lynn yet. She was still unconscious. The doctor said that, between her head and the blood loss, there was no way to know when she would come to… or if…"

The last of Joe's will was broken. I watched him crumple to his knees and let out the most heartbreaking wail, and my heart crumpled with him. Don knelt beside him and the two of them sat on the ground together, clutching each other for dear life. There was no sound among the dozen of us standing by. Only the muffled sobs and shaking shoulders of the two men who loved her most.

After what seemed like a lifetime, I heard a door open. A young nurse stepped outside and spoke briefly to Roe and Spiers, all three faces solemn.

I heard Spiers say, "Yes, I understand. No, thank you. I'll tell them."

We all saw the deep breath he took before he turned to face us again, and Bull and I lifted Joe and Don from the ground, staying close to catch them if they should fall again. The solemnity of Spiers' face had my heart pounding, but at last, he and Doc turned and he spoke.

"Men, I'm sorry…" he hesitated for a moment and I could feel Joe's heart skip a beat. "But all of you won't be able to see her tonight. The doctor says only a few visitors, and only one at a time."

"Is she…?" Joe couldn't bring himself to finish the question, but after a moment, Spiers broke into a wide smile.

"She's awake, Joe. And she's asking for you."


	41. Chapter 41

**** WINTERS POV ****

I was talking to the doctor when I saw Ron leading Joe and Don down the hall. The events of the evening were etched on all of their faces, but Joe looked as though he were teetering on the edge of a total breakdown. I knew about Katie-Lynn's history with Don Malarkey because her godfather, Colonel Sink, wanted to make sure that I understood the tension between them at Toccoa. They had eventually gotten things under control on their own, for which I was grateful, and returned to being close friends. Joe was another story. The two of them had kept their sometimes tumultuous relationship away from the eyes of the officers as much as possible, but the truth was that I had known for a long time and privately, despite the unspoken rules against fraternization, I approved wholeheartedly. Seeing the two of them together made me believe in the idea that the universe had designed a match for everyone. Someone who would balance you out, and bring out the best in you. They were perfect for each other, and I silently thanked God that she had not been killed, because there would have been little I could have done to save Joe from himself at that point.

"Ron. Don," I acknowledged with a nod. "Joe. The doctor was just giving me the latest update. Go ahead, doc."

"Well, I was just telling the Major that we've gotten her stitched up, but we haven't been able to clean her up or change her clothes yet, so don't be alarmed when you see her. The bullet wound turned out to be a graze, but the damage from whatever she was choked with and hitting the jeep when she fell was enough to make her bleed a lot. Now that she is awake and talking, we can tell that there was no permanent damage done when she hit her head, and she has had a transfusion, so I feel good saying that the worst is over."

Joe's whole body appeared to unwind as relief and exhaustion set in, and I felt as though I'd watched him age years before my eyes.

"May I see her, sir? I need to tell her how much I lov…" he caught himself. "I need to make sure that she's alright."

I put a hand on his shoulder so that he looked up at me. His eyes held fear, although I didn't know whether he was scared I would tell him he couldn't go in, or that he had just said too much to a commanding officer. I smiled and held his confused stare as I spoke to the doctor beside me.

"How about it, Doc? Can he go in and see the woman he loves?"

* * *

**** JOE POV ****

Winters knew. My eyes must have given away what I was thinking because he nodded at me.

"I know. Nix knows. Ron knows. Hell, after tonight, even Colonel Sink knows. There isn't a person here who can't see the person you are with her. Truth is, as long as you two tried to be discreet about it, we were all for it. With all that we have been through, especially these last few months, with the camp and everything… Let's just say that we all would have been much more worried about you if you hadn't had her. Of course, the war isn't over quite yet, so continue being discreet and things will be fine. Now, get in there. She's been asking to see you since she woke up. Just not too long, okay? She still needs to rest."

I gave him an affirmative nod and stepped through the door of the room. The light was dim, but I could see the deep reddish-brown stains across the ragged olive drab of her uniform. She was still muddy. Her cheek and neck were caked with dried blood, and I could see the deep purple-green of the bruise left behind by her dog tags. The doctor had tried to tell us what we would see, but nothing could have prepared me. It robbed me of my breath, seeing her like that, and I slid to my knees beside the bed and started to cry again. Then, a soft hand was on my cheek, and I was looking up into her eyes.

"Hi, Joe."

I choked out a half-laugh, half-sniffle and held her palm against my lips. "Hi, Princess."

"You wanna say 'told ya so' now?" she asked, smiling softly, and I pressed my lips to hers.

"Fuck 'told ya so.' I love you. That's what I want to say."

A soft knock came from behind me and she smiled at someone over my shoulder. I looked back and saw Don entering the room, carrying a small basin. His eyes registered the same pained expression that mine had when he got his first look at her, but he covered it well, and I moved over a bit so that he could place the basin on the table beside her bed and kiss her cheek.

"Hey, Kaylee. You up for one more visitor? The doc said that I could bring a rag and some water in here so that we could help you get cleaned up a little."

"Of course! Get in here, sweetheart! How is everyone? Major Winters told me that Chuck was going to make it, but nobody else got hurt, right?"

"No, no. Everyone else is okay. They're just worried about you and Chuck. We caught the guy," Don reassured her.

She looked relieved, glancing over at me and jokingly asking, "Is he still breathing?"

"Barely," I answered quickly. "And only because they wouldn't let Don or me get to him. Webster did knock the shit out of him though. Made us almost proud of College Boy. And Spiers had a pistol between his eyes. Guess he decided we'd seen enough bloodshed though. The MPs took him out just before we all came to the hospital."

Between the two of us, we managed to get her pretty well cleaned up. Don made mention of going to see if he could find her some clean ODs, giving me a meaningful look before leaving the room. I knew exactly what he meant… now or never, Joe. She didn't miss a thing.

"What was that look for?"

"What? Oh, that? Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yeah, okay."

She wasn't letting me off the hook. Besides, Don was right. What was I waiting for anyway? Wasn't almost losing her enough? I sighed and reached into my pocket.

"Alright, Princess. First, I need to tell you that I am so sorry for what happened earlier. I shouldn't have said what I said, and I never would have said it if I thought…" I almost got choked up again, but she leaned in to press a kiss to my lips, reminding me that she already knew. "God, Katie-Lynn, I love you so fucking much. Don picked this up for me, and I was going to save it for Christmas in Paris but we got sent to the Bois Jacques that same night." I saw recognition in her eyes and I smiled, continuing quickly, "I figured that I'd just save it until the war was over, but after tonight… I need to know that this is where it belongs."

I opened my palm so that she could see the delicate ring that I'd been carrying around for what felt like years. Her right hand moved to cover her mouth, her eyes welling with tears so that my own grew wet again.

"Joe…" she gasped, and I took her left hand in mine.

"Kaylee, baby, you and I have been through more together than most people will ever understand. We've endured hell together. You keep me grounded. You've seen me at my absolute worst, and you love me anyway. I know that we have a while to go yet, but I need to know… when we get home, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "Yes, of course!"

We pressed "I love yous" into each other's lips as Don came back into the room with Spiers, Winters, and Sink close behind. She looked up at the Colonel a bit sheepishly, his hardened look making us both swallow nervously. After a moment, he broke into a hearty laugh, joined by the three men around him.

"Oh, darlin', Don already told me about the ring. You two just take it easy until we get done with this thing. Then we can start planning a wedding."


	42. Chapter 42

**DEAR READERS, THIS IS IT. WE'VE REACHED THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THIS STORY, AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS, FEEDBACK, FAVORITES, AND FOLLOWS. I'M ALMOST SAD, BUT EVERY STORY NEEDS A CONCLUSION. THAT BEING SAID, I STILL HAVE MORE STORIES TO WRITE. I AM WORKING ON A NUMBER OF THEM, SO I HOPE YOU WILL STAY TUNED TO MY OTHER POSTINGS. IF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR CHARACTER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR ME TO WRITE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I'VE GOT A FEW IN THE WORKS FOR SOME GUYS THAT I ADORE BUT DON'T FEEL GET ENOUGH LOVE ON HERE, AND I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO ADD TO MY LIST. YOU CHALLENGE MY CREATIVITY, AND THAT IS NEVER A BAD THING.**

**PLEASE ENJOY THE CONCLUSION OF "WHAT LOVE IS"**

* * *

**** KATIE POV ****

August 15, 1945

"This morning, President Truman received an unconditional surrender from the Japanese," Major Winters informed the semi-circle of paratroopers around him. "War's over."

We'd been in Austria for a while now and, despite the horrific circumstances that left Chuck and I injured, we had been at relative peace. I had spent some time laying in that hospital, but Joe, Don, my godfather, and even Captain Spiers, doted on me until I was almost stir-crazy with need to get out and back to training for the Pacific. Now, with those two words, the war was over.

After a few moments of shocked silence, we began to look around at each other, blinking and allowing the realization that we would all be going home sink in. A slow clap quickly grew into a boisterous celebration. Some cheered. Some hugged. A couple picked me up to spin me around. As I looked around amidst the jubilation, I couldn't help but see the faces of those who didn't make it to see this moment. Some were already home, learning to live life outside of the war. Some had gone home to be laid to rest. And some… some were still here, buried in the fields of Western Europe, but still waiting for the last shot to be fired. One look at Major Winters told me that he was thinking about them as well, but for the first time since I'd met him, his whole demeanor radiated a sort of inner peace that could only come from a man who knew that he had done his absolute best under the given set of circumstances. There wasn't a person in Easy, dead or alive, who didn't respect the man. As much as I wouldn't miss the war, I'd miss learning from him how to be a truly good human being.

"You're awfully deep in thought, Princess. You okay?"

Two strong arms wrapped around my waist and I leaned into Joe's chest, sighing, "Yeah, I'm okay."

He knew me better, but he knew that there was really nothing to say. Learning to live without war was going to be something that we all had to deal with in our own way. The friends we had lost and seen injured would always linger in our minds. Being among those who would go home relatively unscathed, at least physically, would be bittersweet. We had been forever bonded by the horrors of war. I remembered a time when I'd been concerned about no longer having a family. As I looked around me at these people, who I respected and adored, enjoying the security I felt in the arms of the man I loved, I realized that my family had been multiplied. Some of them were here. Some were waiting for me to come home, and some I would miss as long as I lived.

The rest of the group drifted away, back to the barracks I supposed, to prepare for the celebration that was sure to take place that evening, but I stood rooted for a long time, staring out into the Austrian air. At last, Joe placed a soft kiss against the scar on my neck which, coincidentally, matched the one he'd gotten in Holland. He'd taken, as I healed, to pressing his lips against it to remind me that we would always be connected in such a simple way. It was, he called it, a brand that marked us as each other's match.

"Come with me, baby. I wanna show you something."

Slipping his fingers into mine, he led me back toward the buildings. I tried to ask him what he was up to, but he would only smile at me and pull me along. I'm not sure when I first began to hear the music, but as we approached the buildings, I realized that it was coming from the small room that had been used for church services by Maloney, who served as Easy Company's chaplain. I looked to Joe for an explanation, but he just shrugged and motioned me toward the door to investigate. Narrowing my eyes at him, I stepped inside the doorway. What I saw next took my breath away.

The room was full. All of Easy Company was standing at the makeshift pews, smiling back at me. My grinning godfather stood by the door, waiting to take my arm. Father Maloney stood at the front of the room with Don Malarkey who, I noticed, was looking back at me with a peaceful smile and glistening eyes. Then, beside Don, I saw them. Lined up in a row, on a makeshift easel, were some of the photographs that Major Winters had traded to get from the regimental photographer. Staring back at me was Hoobler's boyish smile. Toye's proud eyes and Bill's strong jaw. Skip and Penk, arms thrown around each other, covered in mud from the O-course, and wearing the same stupid grins they'd been wearing when they had talked about Muck swimming the Niagara. Somehow, in some small way, every single man that I had come to love was represented.

Joe stepped up beside me and placed his hand on the small of my back so that I looked up into his eyes. For a moment, he said nothing, nibbling on his lower lip as he looked around the room and then back at me. Finally, running his thumb across my cheek to catch a tear, he spoke.

"Gang's all here. What do you say, Princess?" he asked, biting back a wide smile and nodding toward the crowded room with a sheepish shrug. Then, taking my hands in his, he stepped forward and looked down, saying more firmly, "Marry me, Katie-Lynn."

So I did.


End file.
